Essentials  of 
English  Speech 


FRANK  H.VIZETE 


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ESSENTIALS  OF  ENGLISH 

SPEECH  AND  LITERATURE 


AN  OUTLINE  OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH 
OF  THE  LANGUAGE,  WITH  CHAPTERS  ON  THE 
INFLUENCE  OF  THE  BIBLE,  THE  VALUE  OP 
THE  DICTIONARY,  AND  THE  USE  OF  THE  GRAM- 
MAR IN  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  TONGUE 


J.  BY 

FRANK  Hf  VIZETELLY,  Litt.D.,  LL.D. 

Managing  Editor  of  the  "Funk  A  Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionary  of  the 

English  Language,"  Author  of  "A.  Desk-Book  of  Errors 

in  English,"  etc. 


THIRD  EDITION 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   AND   LONDON 


Copyright,  1917,  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 

Published,  February,  1915 


TO 

B.  M.  V. 

MY   STAR   OF   HOPE   IN   A   NEW   LAND 

TO    WHOSE    ENCOUEAGEMENT   AND    DEVOTION 

THIS  BOOK  OWES  ITS   ORIGIN 

IT  IS  DEDICATED 

IN   LOVING   APPRECIATION 

AND     GRATEFUL   ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

F.  H.  V. 


PREFACE 

To  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  essentials  of  English  speech 
and  literature  is  an  accomplishment  which  should  commend 
itself  to  all  who  speak  the  English  tongue.  From  the  point 
of  view  of  this  book,  these  essentials  are  indicated  by  the 
following  questions:  (1)  How  did  the  language  come  into 
being?  (2)  Who  was  responsible  for  its  origin?  (3)  What 
changes  have  taken  place  in  its  orthographical  develop- 
ment? (4)  To  whom  is  this  development  due?  (5) 
Through  what  media  has  it  been  attained?  (6)  What  were 
the  refining  influences  that  have  brought  it  through  its 
crude  original  forms  to  the  plastic  medium  for  expxessing 
thought  which  we  have  to-day? 

To  present  these  essentials  in  concrete  form  is  the  purpose 
of  this  book,  which  records  the  chief  facts  concerning  the 
historical  and  ethnological  development  of  the  language, 
and  which  shows,  by  illustrative  examples  from  different 
periods,  the  progress  made  therein.  Therefore,  the  aim  has 
been:  (1)  To  trace  the  evolution  of  English  speech.  (2) 
To  describe  the  development  and  growth  of  English  litera- 
ture. (3)  To  direct  attention  to  mutations  in  English 
orthography  and  syntax.  To  this  end  the  following  pages 
combine  the  history  of  the  English  language  with  that  of 
English  literature  to  the  time  of  Milton,  whose  orthographic 
and  syntactical  forms  approximate  closely  to  our  own.  It 
tells,  in  brief,  the  story  of  the  language  from  the  dawn  of 
civilization  in  Britain  practically  to  our  time,  so  that  the 
reader  may  be  said  to  have  before  him  a  conspectus  of  the 
different  stages  of  assimilation  through  which  it  has  passed. 


vi  PREFACE 

As  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  use  of  English  words  is 
based  chiefly  upon  the  forms  established  by  that  which  is 
best  in  English  literature,  brief  accounts  of  the  lives  and 
works  of  the  chief  writers  of  English — the  Masters  of  the 
English  tongue — are  included,  and  these  are  supplemented 
by  short  extracts  from  their  works  to  illustrate  characteris- 
tics of  style  and  of  spelling,  and  show  the  progress  made  in 
the  different  periods  into  which  the  chapters  are  subdivided. 
As  an  aid  to  the  student  interested  in  a  comparative  study 
of  English,  the  extracts  from  Anglo-Saxon,  Old  English, 
and  Middle  English  are  accompanied  by  translations  into 
Modern  English,  or  by  explanatory  notes  that  elucidate  the 
original  text. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  book  will  prove  of  service  to  those 
persons  who  wish  to  inform  themselves  on  the  history, 
orthography,  and  literature  of  the  language  which  they 
speak.  To  those  who  have  already  acquired  this  knowledge, 
it  may  serve  to  refresh  the  memory  about  facts  and  things 
long  forgotten  or  out  of  reach.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  book 
is  so  planned  as  to  enable  the  student  to  determine  with 
ease  the  different  periods  in  the  evolution  of  the  language, 
and  it  provides  him  with  a  succinct  guide  to  the  important 
writers  of  each  period.  The  names  of  the  later  or  lesser 
lights  in  literature,  together  with  the  dates  of  their  births 
and  deaths,  and  the  titles  of  their  principal  works  are 
recorded  in  an  appendix. 

In  addition,  chapters  on  the  influence  of  the  English 
Bible — our  great  standard  of  purity  and  exactness — the 
Drama,  and  the  Periodical  Press  have  been  included,  and 
these  are  supplemented  by  others  pointing  out  the  functions 
of  the  English  Grammar  and  of  the  English  Dictionary,  and 
the  benefits  that  may  be  derived  by  a  systematic  consulta- 


PREFACE  vii 

tion  of  both.  The  greatest  text-book  to  knowledge  is  the 
dictionary,  but  its  systematic  study  has  been  so  long 
neglected  that  many  people  do  not  know  how  to  draw  from 
its  pages  the  large  fund  of  useful  information  that  it  con- 
tains. A  chapter  is  devoted  to  explaining  how  this  may  be 
done.  Suggestions  on  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  read- 
ing, and  by  writing  for  publication  are  also  included,  to- 
gether with  a  comprehensive  list  of  the  world's  best  books 
in  English,  where  they  can  be  obtained,  and  the  prices  of 
each,  if  known. 

The  man  and  woman  who  devote  themselves  to  the  study 
of  the  English  language  have  a  large  and  fruitful  subject 
for  investigation — one  so  exhaustless  that  it  is  impossible  of 
completion.  This  book  makes  no  pretense  to  exhaustiveness. 
The  following  pages  are  offered  with  the  hope  that  within 
their  limits  they  may  serve  adequately  the  purpose  for 
which  they  have  been  written,  and  prove  acceptable  to  all 
persons  interested  in  the  study  of  the  glorious  English 
tongue. 

F.  H.  V. 

New  York,  February,  1915. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Preface T-vii 

I.  English:  Its  Origin 1 

II.  English:  Its  Growth 11 

1.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Period :  The  Dialects  of 

the  Tribes 12 

2.  The  Early  Middle  English  Period:  the 

Chronicles  of  the  Monks 23 

3.  The  Late  Middle  English  or  Chaucerian 

Period 34 

4.  The   Modern   Period:   the   Invention   of 

Printing 49 

(A)  The  Early  Modern  or  Tudor 
Period:  the  Mystery-Play  and  the 
Moralities 54 

1.  The  Influence  of  the  Drama  .      89 

2.  The  English  Bible  ....     116 
{B)     The  Modern  Period:   the   In- 
fluence of  the  Press 124 

III.  Some  Mutations  op  Form  and  Sense  ....    139 

IV.  The  Foreign  Element  in  English  ....    159 
V.  Literature:  Its  Elements 174 

VI.  The  Function  op  the  Dictionary     ....    212 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

VII.  The  Dictionary  as  a  Text-Book  ....  233 

VIII.  The  Function  op  Grammar 259 

IX,  Phonetics,  Pronunciation,  and  Reading      .  270 

1.  Phonetics  and  Pronunciation  ....  270 

2.  On  Reading 304 

X.  Writing  for  Publication 314 

XI,  Individuality  in  Writing 325 

XII.  On  the  Corruption  of  Speech    ,     .     ,     .  332 

Appendix 349 

Index 387 


ESSENTIALS  OF  ENGLISH 

SPEECH  AND  LITERATURE 


English:  Its  Origin 

The  first  race  to  inhabit  Albion  of  which  we  have  any 
reliable  records  was  that  of  the  Celts.  ' '  Albion, ' '  as  Britain 
was  originally  called,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  rendered,  **A1- 
bin,"  has  been  variously  explained.  Dr.  W.  F.  Collier^  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  the  Cassiterides,  or  Tin 
Islands,  as  Herodotus  called  them,  were  placed  by  Aristotle 
as  ' '  beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules, ' '  and  described  by  him 
as  ''two  islands,  which  are  very  large,  Albion  and  lerne, 
called  the  Britannic,  which  lie  beyond  the  Celtse. ' '  Albion, 
says  Collier,  is  explained  to  be  a  Celtic  word  meaning 
"white  island,"  used  by  the  Gauls  to  describe  the  chalk- 
rocked  land  that  lay  to  the  north  of  them,  but  Dr.  Isaac  K. 
Funk,  in  his  ''Standard  Dictionary,"  states  the  word  is 
Latin,  perhaps  derived  from  the  Gaelic  Alp,  meaning 
"height"  —  a  view  which  is  accepted  by  most  lexi- 
cographers. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  name  of  the 
land  which  the  Celts  inhabited,  the  fact  remains  that  they 
were  found  there,  together  with  the  Belgae,  by  the  Romans 
when  they  descended  on  British  shores.    The  Belgae  were  a 

*  "Hirtory  of  the  British  Empire." 

1 


2  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Teutonic  tribe  whose  people  in  Caesar's  time  possessed  the 
mainland  of  Europe  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Seine.  This 
tribe,  crossing  the  channel,  settled  in  the  southern  part  of 
Britain,  inhabiting  that  region  which  to-day  comprises 
Hampshire,  "Wiltshire,  and  Somersetshire.  But  over  the 
rest  of  the  land,  even  to  the  adjacent  country  lerne  (modern 
Ireland),  the  Celtic  was  the  dominating  race.  Certain  Gal- 
lic tribes  inhabited  eastern  Britain,  and  to  the  north  con- 
trolling the  basin  of  the  Clyde  and  its  vicinity,  lived  the 
Cymry,  a  Bryttuonie  branch  (Welsh-Breton)  of  the  Celts. 
Possibly  a  few  Saxons,  or  Frisians,  also  dwelt  on  the  eastern 
shores  of  Britain. 

The  descent  of  Caesar's  troops  upon  the  southern  shore 
brought  about  a  confederation  of  these  tribes  to  repel  the 
Roman  attack,  but  to  little  purpose.  Caesar  had  come,  had 
seen,  and  had  conquered.^  For  nearly  five  hundred  years 
thereafter  Roman  arms  and  Roman  civilization  controlled 
Britain. 

Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  thing  about  this  Roman 
occupation  is  that  the  language,  the  law,  and  the  literature 
of  the  Romans  left  only  slight  traces  in  the  land.  A  cor- 
rupt Latin  was  spoken,  no  doubt,  in  towns  under  Roman 
control.  It  may  even  have  displaced  the  native  tongue  in 
Kent,  yet  it  is  not  to  this  period,  but  to  a  much  later  one, 
that  we  must  trace  the  infusion  of  Latin  words  into  our 
language.     The  final  establishment  of  Roman  law  in  the 

'  The  words  "Yeni,  vidi,  vici"  are  frequently  misstated  to  have  been  applied 
by  Ca?sar  to  his  expedition  to  Britain  in  B.C.  55.  There  is  no  basis  for  the 
statement.  According  to  Suetonius,  the  words  were  displayed  before  Caesar's 
title,  at  the  public  celebration,  in  Rome,  of  his  victories  in  Pontus,  not  as  a 
record  of  the  events  of  the  war,  but  as  illustrating  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
campaign  was  carried  on.  The  words  are  not  ascribed  to  Caesar  by  Suetonius. 
Plutarch,  in  his  Life  of  Csesar,  says  that  in  describing  to  Amintus  the  rapidity 
of  his  campaign  against  Pharnaces  in  Pontus  (B.C.  47)  Caesar  used  only  three 
words — "Yeni,  vidi,  vici." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    ORIGIN  3 

land  is  not  to  be  traced  to  this  time,  although  it  is  possible 
that  the  British  people  owe  the  organization  of  municipal 
institutions  and  town  governments  to  the  Romans. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  Roman  soldiery  by  Honorius 
practically  left  the  natives  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
Picts  and  the  Scots,  who,  scaling  the  walls  that  had  been 
built  to  keep  them  out,  swarmed  across  the  northern  border, 
and  attacked  the  Cymry,  whom  they  drove  upon  the  Gaels 
in  North  Wales.  The  Gaels  withdrew  to  the  fertile  midland 
region,  and  destroyed  the  towns  of  the  Roman  provincials 
as  they  went.  There  are  two  accounts  of  what  followed — 
the  Celtic  and  the  Saxon.  The  commonly  accepted  account 
is  the  Saxon  story  related  by  Bede  and  the  ' '  Saxon  Chron- 
icle." 

Vortigern,  a  British  chieftain,  himself  unable  to  cope  with 
the  Picts  and  Scots,  sought  the  aid  of  the  Ethelings,  Hengest 
and  Horsa,  to  repel  them.  These  princes,  giving  heed  to 
Vortigern 's  call  for  help,  set  sail  for  Britain  in  three 
chillies  or  war-keels.  Aboard  of  these  were  warriors  repre- 
senting three  tribes — the  Jutes,  the  Angles,  and  the  Saxons 
— who,  soon  after  landing  (a.d.  449),  routed  the  invading 
hordes,  and  settled  down  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  victory. 
The  Jutes  established  themselves  in  Kent,  and  new  arrivals 
rapidly  increased  their  ranks.  This  incursion  so  alarmed 
the  Britons  that  they  refused  to  provide  food  for  the  in- 
vaders, who,  joining  forces  with  the  Picts,  turned  against 
the  Britons,  and  gained  their  first  victory  over  them  by 
forcing  the  passage  of  the  Medway  at  Aylesford.  This 
defeat  was  followed  by  another  at  the  passage  of  the  Cray, 
when  the  Britons  were  driven  back  and  fled  in  terror  to 
London.  Then,  collecting  their  scattered  forces,  they  re- 
newed the  attack  and  soon  regained  much  of  the  land  that 


4  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

they  had  lost,  but  not  before  the  invaders  had  firmly- 
established  themselves  in  the  north  of  Kent  and  on  its 
eastern  and  southern  shores.  On  the  arrival  of  reinforce- 
ments, Hengest  and  Aesc,  taking  the  aggressive,  attacked 
and  totally  defeated  the  Britons  at  Wippedesfleot  (identi- 
fied as  Ebbsfleet  in  Thanet).  So  overwhelming  was  this 
defeat  that  the  Britons  found  it  impossible  to  save  Northern 
Kent,  and,  abandoning  it,  withdrew  to  the  southern  shore, 
where  for  a  time  they  held  their  own. 

In  477  Ella,  or,  as  his  name  is  sometimes  written,  Aelle, 
accompanied  by  his  three  sons,  Cymen,  Whencing,  and 
Cissa,  landed  at  Cymenesora,  in  Sussex,  a  place  which  G. 
M.  Lappenberg^  identifies  with  Keynor  in  Selsea.  He  fought 
a  hard  but  indecisive  battle  with  the  Britons,  which  led  him 
to  send  for  reinforcements.  On  their  arrival  he  attacked 
and  captured  the  Roman  fortress,  Anderida,  and  burned  the 
town  (491).  "Aelle  and  Cissa  beset  Anderida,"  so  reads 
the  chronicle  of  the  conquerors,  ''and  slew  all  that  were 
therein,  nor  was  there  afterwards  one  Briton  left."  With 
this  pitiless  victory  Ella  broke  the  British  power  in  Sussex 
and  founded  the  kingdom  of  the  South  Saxons.  This  king- 
dom had  scarcely  been  established  when  another  band  of 
Saxons,  the  Genissas,  under  the  leadership  of  Cerdic,  and 
his  son  Cymric,  landed  (495)  at  the  place  which  is  called 
Cerdicesora,  placed  by  Green  "on  the  shores  of  Southamp^ 
ton  water."*  Cerdic 's  proposed  campaign  of  conquest  was 
not  immediately  successful.  He  had  made  a  landing  and 
held  it,  but  before  victory  crowned  his  arms  he  was  com- 
pelled to  seek  alliance  with  Aesc  and  Ella.  The  defeat  of 
the  Britons  followed  and  culminated  in  a  decisive  victory 

•  "History  of  England  Under  the  Anglo-Saxon  Kings." 

*  J.  B.  Green,  "A  History  of  the  English  People,"  ch.  i. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    ORIGIN  5 

for  Cerdic  at  Charford  in  519.  This  ended  the  struggle, 
and  ' '  Cerdic  and  Cymric  obtained  the  kingdom  of  the  West 
Saxons. ' ' 

There  are  no  records  of  the  time  or  manner  of  the  in- 
vasion of  Essex.  Its  reduction  is  attributed  to  a  prince  of 
the  Uflfingas,  a  descendant  of  Uffa,  King  of  East  Anglia, 
from  whom  all  the  kings  of  the  East  Angles  are  said  to  have 
been  descended.*  Notwithstanding  the  active  and  vigorous 
part  taken  by  the  Jutes  and  the  Saxons  in  the  subjugation 
of  Britain,  the  chief  part  fell  to  the  Angles  (Engles),  a  tribe 
that  was  destined  to  absorb  both  the  Jutes  and  the  Saxons, 
and  so  to  impress  itself  upon  the  descendants  of  the  union 
of  the  three  tribes  as  to  leave  an  indelible  impression  on  the 
history  of  the  world. 

The  exact  date  when  the  Angles  settled  on  the  shores  of 
Northumbria  is  not  known,  nor  are  the  details  of  the  in- 
vasion that  led  to  this  settlement.  Green  says :  '  *  The  Engle 
had  probably  been  settling  for  years  along  the  coast  of 
Northumbria  and  the  great  district  which  was  cut  off  from 
the  rest  of  Britain  by  the  Wash  and  the  Fens,  the  later  East 
Anglia."  The  ''Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle"  relates  of  the 
northern  part  of  Northumbria,  that  Ida  the  Torch-bearer 
assumed  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria  (Bernicia)  in  the 
year  547.  Bernicia  lay  between  the  Forth  and  the  Tyne, 
and  embraced  the  eastern  coast  land.  The  Angles  who  had 
migrated  there  steadily  pushed  their  way  westward,  but  the 
progress  made  was  slight,  for  the  winning  of  the  west 
proved  slow  work.  It  was  not  until  Ida  united  the  various 
settlements  of  that  region  into  one  kingdom  that  the  Angles 
made  headway.  But  no  sooner  had  they  subdued  the 
Britons  than  they  turned  their  attention  to  the  subjuga- 

•  Bede,  "Hirtoria  Ecclesiastica." 


6  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

tion  of  their  fellow  countrymen  who  had  settled  in  Deira, 
which  lay  to  the  south  of  them. 

Deira,  which  ultimately  became  a  part  of  Northumbria, 
extended  from  the  Tees,  or  the  Tyne,  to  the  Humber,  and 
spread  inland  to  the  borders  of  Strathclyde.  It  was 
colonized  probably  by  several  tribes,  each  under  a  different 
leader.  These  tribes,  uniting  eventually,  formed  the  King- 
dom of  Deira,  to  the  throne  of  which  Ella  came  in  560. 
He  reigned  for  twenty-eight  years,  and  extended  his  do- 
main to  the  very  border  of  Bernicia,  but  at  his  death 
Ethelric  (^thelric^)  of  Bernicia  drove  Ella's  son  Edwin 
out  of  Deira  and  usurped  the  country  (588).  Edwin  then 
sought  refuge  with  Redwald,  King  of  the  East  Angles,  who 
subsequently  (617)  helped  him  to  defeat  Ethelric  and  re- 
gain his  territory.  But  it  was  not  until  the  reign  of  Os\vy, 
a  son  of  Ethelfrith  (^thelfrith^)  that  the  two  kingdoms, 
Bernicia  and  Deira,  were  permanently  united,  being 
merged  into  Northumbria  ( 670 ) .  The  union  seems  to  have 
lasted  until  the  appearance  of  the  Danes,  among  whom 
Deira  was  partitioned  in  876.  As  a  political  division,  Deira 
became  extinct  with  the  Norman  Conquest. 

Mercia  was  the  name  of  a  great  Anglian  kingdom  in  the 
midlands  of  Britain.  The  exact  date  of  its  settlement  is 
unknown,  but  has  been  approximated  to  the  latter  half  of 
the  sixth  century  (582).  Its  first  king,  Cridda,  died  in 
600.  The  original  Anglian  settlers,  owing  to  their  proxim- 
ity to  the  unconquered  Welsh,  received  the  name  of  Mer- 
cians, or  ''Men  of  the  March."  The  Mercians  were  as  suc- 
cessful in  their  military  activity  as  in  their  industrial 
progress,  and  at  one  time  "Wessex,  Kent,  Essex,  and  Sussex 

*  Green's  "A  History  of  the  English  People." 

^  T.  A.  Archer,  "Dictionary  of  English  History." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    ORIGIN  7 

acknowledged  their  supremacy,  but  the  death  of  Offa, 
King  of  Mercia,  in  796,  marked  the  decline  of  Mercian 
power.  Four  years  later  Egbert,  King  of  Wessex,  who 
had  been  deprived  of  his  kingdom  and  driven  into  exile 
by  Offa,  returned  to  Britain,  and  was  restored  to  his  throne 
by  the  West  Saxon  people  (Collier,  800;  Green,  802).  He 
signalized  his  return  by  a  march  into  Cornwall,  the  pur- 
pose of  which  was  the  subjugation  of  this  remnant  of  the 
British  in  the  southwest.  This  accomplished,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  Mercians,  who  had  advanced  into  the  heart 
of  "Wiltshire,  and  defeated  them  at  Ellandum  (modern 
AUington  or  Wilton),  in  825,^  after  which  Kent,  Essex, 
Northumbria,  and  East  Anglia  submitted  to  his  sword; 
then,  for  the  first  time,  the  whole  English  race  was  united 
under  one  king. 

Dr.  0.  F.  Emerson,^  quoting  Kluge's  "History  of  Eng- 
lish Speech,""  says  that  Kluge  "sums  up  the  whole  as 
it  relates  to  settlement  in  these  words:  'The  Jutes  settled 
Kent,  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  the  neighboring  parts  of 
Hampshire.  The  Saxons  occupied  the  banks  of  the  Thames 
and  the  remaining  portion  of  England  southward.  The 
rest  of  England  was  possessed  by  the  Angles.'  " 

The  facts  relating  to  the  settlement  of  England,  as  here- 
inbefore shown,  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

A.D. 

Reputed  Landing  of  Hengest  and  Horsa 449 

The  Kingdom  of  Kent,  founded  by  the  Jutes  under 

Hengest 457 

The  Kingdom  of  Sussex  (embracing  Sussex  and  Sur- 
rey) founded  by  the  South  Saxons  under  Ella  . .  491 

•  Green's  "A  History  of  the  English  People,"  p.  65. 

•  "History  of  the  English  Language, "  p.  42. 
**  "Geschichte  der  englischen  Sprache." 


8  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

A.D. 

The  Kingdom  of  Wessex  (embracing  Hants,  Wilts,  Dor- 
set, and  Devon),  founded  by  the  West  Saxons  under 
Cerdic      519 

The  Kingdom  of  East  Saxony  (embracing  Essex  and 
Middlesex),  founded  by  the  East  Saxons  under 
Ercemvin         527 

The  Kingdom  of  Bernicia  (called  also  Northumbria) 

was  founded  by  the  Angles  under  Ida 547 

The  Kingdom  of  Deira,  founded  by  the  Angles  under 

Ella 560 

The  Ivingdom  of  East  Anglia  (embracing  Norfolk,  Suf- 
folk, and  Cambridge),  founded  by  the  East  Angles 
under  Uffa 575 

The    Kingdom    of    ]\Iercia     (embracing    the    Midland 

counties),  founded  by  the  Angles  under  Cridda       . .  582  (  ?) 

Berxicia  and  Deira  (the  eastern  shore  of  Britain,  from 

the  Humber  to  the  Forth),  finally  united       . .      . .  670 

The  foregoing  has  been  written  to  familiarize  the  reader 
with  the  distribution  over  Britain  of  the  tribes  whose  lan- 
guage formed  the  nucleus  of  our  own — the  Anglo-Saxon 
tongue.  Marsh^^  tells  us  that,  while  we  have  no  historical 
proof  by  which  we  can  identify  the  Anglo-Saxon  language, 
and  the  people  who  spoke  it,  with  any  dialect  and  nation 
of  Continental  Europe,  we  have  linguistic  evidence  of  a 
commingling  of  nations  in  the  body  of  intruders,  yet  that 
there  is  no  proof  that  Anglo-Saxon  was  ever  spoken  any- 
where but  on  the  soil  of  Great  Britain.  Therefore,  he  ex- 
plains that  Anglo-Saxon  was  a  new  speech  resulting  from 
the  fusion  of  many  elements  rather  than  a  transplantation 
of  the  Heliand  and  other  remains  of  Old  Saxon. 

Originally  the  Germanic  tribes  that  inhabited  Britain 
were  known  by  various  names,  according  to  the  region  from 
which  they  came.    Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes  were  in  the 

"  "Lpcturrs  on  Enplish  Language,"  by  George  P.  Margh,  p.   35. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    ORIGIN  9 

majority,  but  the  terms  "Angle"  and  ''English"  were  not 
used  to  designate  them  until  later.  Ethelbert,  King  of 
Kent,  styled  himself  and  his  people  as  Angles.  Dr.  Free- 
man^^  claims  that  the  term  "Anglo-Saxon"  is  a  mere  con- 
traction of  the  phrase  "Angles  and  Saxons,"  but  other 
authorities,"  who  preceded  him,  assert  that  the  term  was 
used  to  distinguish  the  Saxons  of  England  from  the  Sax- 
ons of  the  Continent.  The  preponderance  of  authority  is 
in  favor  of  the  latter  explanation,  for  in  English  we  have 
the  forms  Angul-Seaxna  and  Ongol-Saxna,  while  in  Latin 
we  have  Angul-Saxones  and  Angli-Saxones.  If  the  Old 
English  "Angel  eyn,"  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  written,  "ongol 
eyn,"  renders  "English  kin"  as  it  is  commonly  tran- 
scribed, it  is  evident  that  "Angul-Seaxe,"  or  "Ongol- 
Saxe,"  must  be  transcribed  into  "English  Saxons."  Yet 
Freeman's  explanation,  if  supported  by  the  language, 
would  be  more  satisfactory,  especially  when  the  term  Anglo- 
Saxon  was  applied  to  the  ruler  of  the  land — the  King  of 
the  Angles  of  the  North  and  of  the  Saxons  of  the  South. 
The  term  "Anglo-Saxon"  is  not  found  in  the  "Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle,"  which  refers  to  the  five  languages  in  use  in 
Britain  as  "English,  British,  Scotch,  Pictish,  and  Latin," 
nor  is  it  in  the  "Latin  Chronicle  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Kings"  by  Ethelward  (Fabius  Quaestor  Ethelwerdus),  a 
work  which  consists  mainly  of  a  condensation  of  Bede's 
"Ecclesiastical  History"  and  the  "Anglo-Saxon  Chron- 
icle." 

The  people  ruled  by  Edgar  and  Harold  called  themselves 
"English  kin."     King  Alfred,  although  only  King  of  the 

"  Edward  Augustus  Freeman,  "History  of  the  Norman  Conquest." 

"  William  Camden's  "Britannia,  or  a  Chronological  Description  of  England, 

Scotland,    and    Ireland,"    and    John    Mitchell    Kemble,    "Remains    Concerning 

Britain." 


10  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

West  Saxons,  is  referred  to  in  the  "Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle" 
as  "King  of  all  the  English  kin  except  the  part  that  was 
under  the  wield  of  the  Danes." 

In  the  languages  of  the  world  the  English  tongue  may- 
be classified  as  belonging  to  the  "West  Teutonic  branch  of 
the  Teutonic  sub-family  in  the  Indo-European  division. 
It  is  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  Low  Germanic  group  of 
the  Gothic  languages.  "What  is  now  called  the  German 
language,  therefore,  though  of  the  same  Gothic  stock,  be- 
longs to  a  different  branch  from  our  own.  We  are  only 
distantly  related  to  the  Germans  proper,  or  the  race  among 
whom  the  language  and  literature  now  known  as  the  Ger- 
man have  originated  and  grown  up.  We  are,  at  least  in 
respect  of  language,  more  nearly  akin  to  the  Dutch  and  the 
Flemings  than  we  are  to  the  Germans.  It  may  even  be 
doubted  if  the  English  language  ought  not  to  be  regarded 
as  having  more  of  a  Scandinavian  than  of  a  purely  Ger- 
manic character — as,  in  other  words,  more  nearly  re- 
sembling the  Danish  or  Swedish  than  the  modem  German. 
The  invading  bands  by  whom  it  was  originally  brought 
over  to  Britain  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  were  in  all 
probability  drawn  in  great  part  from  the  Scandinavian 
countries.  At  a  later  date,  too,  the  population  of  England 
was  directly  recruited  from  Denmark,  and  the  other  re- 
gions around  the  Baltic  to  a  large  extent.  From  about  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century  the  population  of  all  the  east- 
ern and  northern  parts  of  the  country  was  as  much  Danish 
as  English.  And  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh 
century  the  sovereignty  was  acquired  by  the  Danes.  "^* 

**  Q.  L.  Craik,  "English  Literature  and  Language,"  Vol.  I,  p.  49. 


n 


English:  Its  Growth 

Op  all  the  languages  of  the  earth  English,  in  its  vocabu- 
lary, is  the  most  heterogeneous.  Almost  every  nation  has 
contributed  to  it  until  words  from  the  Hebrew,  Celtic, 
Latin,  Greek,  Saxon,  Danish,  French,  Italian,  Spanish, 
Portuguese,  Dutch,  German,  Arabic,  Persian,  Chinese, 
Japanese,  Hindu,  Maori,  Hawaiian,  Russian,  Turkish,  and 
even  American-Indian  may  be  found  in  one  great  agglom- 
eration in  the  English  dictionary. 

In  the  history  of  the  language  and  its  literature  there 
are  four  periods : 

(1)  The  first,  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  Anglo-Saxon 
period,  and  more  recently  sometimes  termed  Old  English  or 
Oldest  English,  dates  from  the  earliest  Teutonic  speech  in 
England,  a.d.  450  to  a.d.  1150.  This  was  the  period  of  full 
inflection. 

(2)  The  second,  designated  as  the  Early  Middle  English, 
during  which  French  words  in  large  numbers,  were  intro- 
duced into  the  language.  This  period  extended  from  a.d. 
1150  to  A.D.  1350,  which  should  be  divided  into  two  separate 
periods  (a)  1150  to  1250,  during  which  the  inflections  were 
broken  up;  and  (6)  1250  to  1350,  which  marked  the  intro- 
duction of  French  words. 

(3)  The  third,  or  Chaucerian  Period,  better  known  as  the 
Old  English  of  literature,  now  commonly  called  the  Late 
Middle  English,  during  which  the  Saxon  and  Norman  and 

11 


12  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Angevin  French  elements  were  formed  into  a  new  literary 
language.     This  period  extended  from  1300  to  1477. 

(4)  The  fourth,  which  dates  from  1477  is  called  Modern 
English,  and  extends  to  the  present  time.  During  this 
period  foreign  words  in  very  large  numbers  were  borrowed 
and  have  since  been  assimilated.  The  vocabularies  of  the 
French,  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  the  Scotch,  the  Dutch, 
the  Germans,  the  Italians,  the  Turks,  the  Hindus,  the 
Russians,  the  Persians,  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese,  the 
Arabs,  and  even  the  Sudanese  have  been  drawn  upon  for 
terms  with  which  to  enrich  the  English  tongue.  Originally 
merely  borrowed,  many  of  these  terms  have  now  passed  into 
our  language  as  Anglicized,  and  it  should  not  be  a  matter 
of  surprize  if  this,  the  present  so-called  Modern  English 
period,  is  eventually  so  divided  as  to  mark  the  dates  of 
each  distinct  stage  of  this  assimilation. 

1.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Period:  The  Dialects  of  the  Tribes 

The  language  of  the  different  Teutonic  tribes  that  in- 
vaded Britain  was  not  common  to  all.  Each  tribe  spoke  a 
dialect  which  differed  more  or  less  from  that  of  its  neigh- 
bor. But  once  the  tribes  settled  down  upon  the  land, 
speech  was  divided  into  four  dialects:  (1)  The  North- 
umbrian, which  was  spoken  from  the  Humber  to  the  Forth ; 
(2)  the  Mercian,  which  was  spoken  from  the  Thames  north- 
ward through  the  Midlands  to  Cheshire;  (3)  the  Kentish, 
spoken  in  the  regions  now  known  as  the  counties  of  Kent 
and  Surrey;  and  (4)  the  West  Saxon,  spoken  in  all  counties 
south  of  the  Thames  and  west  of  Kent  and  Surrey.  East 
Anglian  dialects  were  spoken  in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  but 
not  much  is  known  of  these.  The  northern  group,  or 
Anglian,  consisted  of  the  Northumbrian  and  Mercian  dia- 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  13 

lects,  while  the  southern  group  comprised  Kentish,  as  the 
language  of  the  Jutes,  and  West  Saxon,  that  of  the  Saxons. 

Until  comparatively  recent  times  the  study  of  the  early 
English  texts  seems  to  have  been  neglected  by  the  British. 
So  low  was  the  standard  of  linguistic  science  in  England  in 
the  early  decades  of  the  second  half  of  the  last  century  that 
Marsh,^  in  writing  on  the  subject,  said:  "British  scholars 
have  produced  few  satisfactory  discussions  of  Anglo-Saxon 
or  Old  English  inflectional  or  structural  forms,  and  it  is  to 
Teutonic  zeal  and  learning  that  we  must  still  look  for  the 
elucidation  of  many  points  of  interest  connected  with  the 
form  and  the  signification  of  primitive  English.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  relics  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  of  early 
English  literature  remains  yet  unpublished,  or  has  been 
edited  with  so  little  sound  learning  and  critical  ability  as 
to  serve  less  to  guide  than  to  lead  astray.  .  .  .  But  a  better 
era  has  commenced.  The  recent  admirable  translations  of 
Layamon,  of  the  Ormulum,  and  of  the  Wycliffite  transla- 
tions of  the  Scriptures,  are  exceedingly  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  English  philology,  and  in  the  highest  degree  credit- 
able to  the  critical  skill  and  industry  of  the  eminent  schol- 
ars who  have  prepared  and  published  them." 

The  conditions  to  which  Marsh  refers  were  due  probably 
to  the  fact  that  in  England  interest  in  matters  of  English 
philology  is  restricted  to  the  few  private  individuals  of 
independent  means  rather  than  distributed  among  the 
public  at  large.  To  cite  an  instance  of  this  state  of  things 
no  better  example  can  be  given  than  the  vicissitudes  from 
which  the  "New  English  Dictionary,"  still  in  course  of 
production  at  Oxford  University,  has  suffered.  Sir  James 
Murray's  experience,  and  that  of  his  assistants,  was  at  one 

*  "Lectures  on  the  English  Language,"  introd. 


14  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

time  almost  on  a  par  with  that  of  his  famous  predecessor  in 
lexicography,  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  who  produced  his  dic- 
tionary "with  little  assistance  of  the  learned."  This  is 
not  strange,  however,  in  a  land  where  national  recognition 
of  literary  talents  is  restricted  to  the  appointment  of  a 
poet  laureate.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  land,  that  gave 
birth  to  so  noble  a  tongue  as  our  own,  has  not  yet  estab- 
lished as  a  concrete  part  of  its  national  organization  a 
department  of  public  printing  and  another  of  literature  and 
art. 

Dr.  Emerson^  traces  the  first  official  use  of  English  words 
to  a  Kentish  charter  of  the  year  679,  and  of  West  Saxon 
words  to  a  charter  dated  778. 

The  Old  English  tongue  was  highly  inflectional,  but  it 
was  a  homogeneous  language  which  had  very  little  of  the 
foreign  element  in  it.  Its  derivatives  and  compounds  it 
formed  from  its  own  resources. 

The  Anglian  or  northern  dialect  was  the  first  to  produce 
a  literature.  This  was  fostered  probably  by  Ionian  scholars 
under  the  Northumbrian  Kings  who  reigned  from  616  to 
685.  Caedmon,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  spelled  Cedmon,  said 
to  have  been  a  cowherd  belonging  to  the  monastery  at 
Whitby  in  Northumbria,  and  ''even  more  ignorant  than 
his  fellows,"  was  the  first  English  poet  to  sing  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge.  He  flourished 
about  650  (died  about  680),  and  sang  "verses  which  he  had 
never  heard  or  learned,  praising  and  magnifying  the 
Creator  who  made  heaven  and  earth  for  the  children  of 
men."^ 

Although  the  authorship   of  the  poems  commonly   at- 

*  0.  F.  Emerson,   "History  of  the  English  Language,"  page  45. 

'  Dr.  Thomas   Arnold   in   "Encyclopedia   Britannica,"    ninth  ed.,   s.v. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  15 

tributed  to  Caedmon  has  been  disputed,  modern  scholars, 
generally  concede  that  he  was  responsible  for  that  part  of  the 
"Paraphrase,"  a  collection  of  separate  Bible  stories  which 
concerns  the  book  of  Genesis,  and  forms  one  of  the  Scrip- 
tural narratives  to  be  found  in  a  tenth  century  manuscript 
in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  England.  The  narra- 
tives form  two  series,  the  first  comprising  "Genesis," 
"Exodus,"  and  "Daniel";  and  the  second,  collectively 
called,  "Christ  and  Satan,"  consists  of  the  "Fallen 
Angels, ' '  the  * '  Harrowing  of  Hell, ' '  and  the  ' '  Temptation, ' ' 
The  second  series  is  believed  to  be  of  too  late  a  date  to  be 
by  Caedmon.  In  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost"  there  are  some 
passages  that  closely  resemble  those  of  Caedmon 's  "Gene- 
sis" both  in  thought  and  language.  Editions  of  these  poems 
were  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1655 ;  in  London,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  by  Benjamin 
Thorpe — the  only  complete  one  issued  and  now  out  of  print 
—and  at  Elberfeld  in  1847  and  1848. 

The  following  lines  cited  from  that  part  of  the  "Para- 
phrase" which  treats  of  the  "Song  of  Azariah,"  and  accom- 
panied by  an  extract  from  Thorpe's  translation,  afford 
opportunity  for  the  comparison  of  Anglo-Saxon  with 
Modem  English. 

Caedmon  Thorpe's  Translation 

]>SL  of  roderum  wees.  Then  from  the  firmament  was 

Engel  aelbeorht.  An  all-bright  angel 

Ufan  onsended.  Sent  from  above, 

Wlite  scyne  wer.  A  man  of  beauteous  form, 

On  his  wuldor-haman.  In  his  garb  of  glory: 

Se  him  cwom  to  frofre.  Who  to  them  came  for  comfort, 

&  to  feorh-nere.  And  for  their  lives'  salvation, 

Mid  lufan  &  mid  lisse.  With  love  and  with  grace ; 

Se  ]?one  lig  tosceaf.  Who  the  flame  scattered 


16 


ESSENTIALS   OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


Caedmon 
Halig  and  heofon-beorht. 
Hatan  fyres. 

Tosweop  hine  &  toswende. 
J?urh  ]?a  swi]7an  miht. 
Ligges  leoma. 
J?at  hyra  lice  ne  wses. 
Owiht  geegled. 


Thorpe's  Translation 
(Holy  and  heaven-bright) 
Of  the  hot  fire, 
Swept  it  and  dashed  away, 
Through  his  great  might, 
The  beams  of  flame; 
So  that  their  bodies  were  not 
Injured  aught. 


The  fragment  of  Caedmon  reproduced  below  was  first 
printed  by  Wanley  from  an  ancient  manuscript.  It  is 
accompanied  by  one  printed  by  Hickes  from  Beda  Hist. 
Eccl.,  4,  24,  and  by  a  translation.  The  first  of  the  three 
has  been  said  to  represent  the  Northumbrian  dialect  of 
Caedmon 's  time. 


Wa/nley 
Nu  seylun  hergan 

Hefaen-rieaes  uard, 

Metudes  msecti, 

End  his  modge]?ane. 

Uerc  uuldur  f  adur, 

Sue  he  uundra 

gihuaes, 
Eei  drietin, 
Ord  stelidae. 

He  serist  scopa, 
Elda  barnum, 
Heben  til  hrofe; 
Haleg  scepen : 
J?a  mittungeard, 


Hickes 

Nil  we  seeolan 

herigean 
Heofon-rices  weard, 

Metodes  mihte, 

And  his  modgethanc. 

Weore  wuldor-faeder, 

Sva  he  wundra 

gewses, 
Ece  drihten, 
Ord  onstealde. 

He  ae'rest  scop, 
EorSan  bearnum, 
Heofon  to  rof e ; 
Halig  seyppend : 
Da  middangeard. 


Translation. 

Now  we  should 
praise 

The  heaven-king- 
dom's ward. 

The  might  of  the 
Creator, 

And  his  mood- 
thought. 

The   glory-father  of 
works, 

As  he,  of  wonders, 
each 

Eternal  Lord, 

Originally  estab- 
lished. 

He  erst  shaped, 

For  earth's  bairns, 

Heaven  to  roof; 

Holy  shaper; 

Then  mid-earth. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  17 

Wanley  Hickes  Translation 

Moncynnses  uard,  Moncynnes  weard,  Mankind's  home, 

Eci  drictin,  Ece  drihten,  Eternal  Lord, 

-i3i]fter  tiatSae,  -^fter  teode.  After  formed, 

Firum  foldu,  Firum  foldan.  For  the  homes  of  men, 

Frea  albnectig.  Frea  almihtig.  Lord  Almighty. 

To  the  student  of  the  English  language  the  most  precious 
relic  of  Anglo-Saxon  speech  is  the  epic  of  "Beowulf"  which 
dates  from  the  sixth  or  seventh  century.  This  famous 
poem,  which  is  considered  "the  most  important  surviving 
monument  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetry, ' '  has  been  declared  to  be 
of  West  Saxon  origin.  It  relates  the  exploits  of  Beowulf, 
son  of  Ecgtheow,  the  nephew  of  Hygelac,  King  of  the 
Geatas,*  or  ancient  people  of  Gotland,  and  affords  a  stirring 
picture  of  life  among  the  Norsemen. 

"Many  episodes  that  have  nothing  to  do  with  Beowulf 
himself  have  been  inserted.  They  include  many  particulars 
of  what  purports  to  be  the  history  of  the  royal  houses,  not 
only  of  the  Gautar  and  the  Danes,  but  also  of  the  Swedes, 
the  continental  Angles,  the  Ostrogoths,  the  Frisians,  and 
the  Heathobeards,  besides  references  to  matters  of  un- 
localized  heroic  story  such  as  the  exploits  of  Sigismund. 
The  Saxons  are  not  named,  and  the  Franks  appear  only  as 
a  dreaded  hostile  power.  Of  Britain  there  is  no  mention; 
and  though  there  are  some  distinctly  Christian  passages, 
they  are  so  incongruous  in  tone  with  the  rest  of  the  poem 
that  they  must  be  regarded  as  interpolations.  In  general, 
the  extraneous  episodes  have  no  great  appropriateness  to 
their  context,  and  have  the  appearance  of  being  abridged 
versions  of  stories  that  had  been  related  at  length  in  poetry. 
Their  confusing  effect,  for  modern  readers,  is  increased 

'"Encyclopedia  Britannica"    (1910),  Vol.  III.,  p.   758. 


18  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

by  a  curiously  irrelevant  prologue.  It  begins  by  celebrating 
the  ancient  glories  of  the  Danes,  tells  in  allusive  style  the 
story  of  Scyld,  the  founder  of  the  'Scylding'  dynasty  of 
Denmark,  and  praises  the  virtues  of  his  son  Beowulf.  If 
this  Danish  Beowulf  had  been  the  hero  of  the  poem,  the 
opening  would  have  been  appropriate ;  but  it  seems 
strangely  out  of  place  as  an  introduction  to  the  story  of 
his  namesake. ' '  The  poem  consists  of  more  than  6,000  lines, 
of  which  the  four  given  below  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of 
the  language  of  the  time. 

Beowulf  Translation 

J?a  com  of  more  Then  came  from  the  moor, 

Unter  mist-bleodhun  Under  mist-hills, 

Grendel  gongan ;  Grendel  to  go ; 

Goddes  yrre  bar.  God's  ire  he  bare. 

Caedmon  was  followed  by  Cynewulf,  whom  Kemble 
identified  with  an  abbot  of  Peterborough,  who  flourished  in 
the  eleventh  century,  but  Dr.  Arnold  suggests  he  was  prob- 
ably a  West  Saxon  writer  of  the  first  half  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury. Cynewulf  was  a  poet  of  no  mean  order  and  in  his 
' '  Crist, ' '  which  contains  nearly  1,700  lines,  revels  in  the  task 
of  expressing  in  his  mother  tongue  the  new  religious  ideas 
which  had  come  to  his  race.^  He  wrote,  among  other 
poems,  "Elene,"  a  legend  of  the  finding  of  the  Cross  at 
Jerusalem,  and  "Juliana,"  a  tale  of  the  martyrdom  of  a 
saint  bearing  that  name. 

Cynewulf  has  been  identified  as  a  Northumbrian  church- 
man, and  as  "Cynulf,"  a  priest  of  Dunwich,  whose  name 
figures  on  a  decree  of  the  Council  of  Clofesho  in  803.^    Pro- 

*  J.  M.  Kemble,  "The  Saxons  in  England." 

•A.   S.  Cook,   Introduction  to   "The  Christ  of  Cynewulf"    (1900). 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  19 

fessor  M.  Trautmann  identifies  him  as  the  bishop  of  Lindis- 
fame,  who  died  in  783  J 

Beda,  sometimes  called  Bede,  who  on  account  of  his 
learning  and  piety  was  surnamed  ' '  the  Venerable, ' '  was  the 
most  distinguished  scholar  of  his  time  and  the  greatest 
writer  of  the  early  literature  of  Britain.  He  was  born  in 
672  and  died  in  735.  Bede  was  a  prolific  author,  and  in 
the  course  of  his  career  wrote  homilies,  hymns,  lives  of 
saints,  and  works  on  chronology  and  grammar.  When 
fifty-nine  years  old  he  produced  his  most  valuable  work, 
"Historia  Ecclesiastica  Gentis  Anglorum,"  an  ecclesias- 
tical history  of  England,  in  five  books,  which  furnished 
almost  all  of  the  information  we  have  of  the  early  history 
of  England  down  to  731.  Near  the  close  of  his  life  he  was 
engaged  on  a  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  into 
Anglo-Saxon,  which  he  lived  to  complete,  and  died  with  the 
praise  of  God  on  his  lips  as  the  last  sentence  was  penned. 

With  the  rise  of  the  West  Saxon  kingdom  in  the  early 
years  of  the  ninth  century  the  dialect  of  the  West  Saxons 
came  to  the  front,  and  it  established  its  supremacy  over  all 
other  Old  English  dialects  about  the  middle  of  that  century. 
Its  ascendency  was  complete  and  it  became  the  standard 
language  of  England  during  the  reign  of  King  Alfred,  but 
to  remain  so  only  until  the  Danish  invasion.  To  King 
Alfred,  himself  a  scholar,  we  owe,  among  other  works, 
translations  of  ' '  The  Universal  History ' '  of  Orosius,  ' '  The 
Pastoral  Care  of  St.  Gregory,"  and  "The  Consolation  of 
Philosophy"  by  Boethius. 

Alfred  the  Great  was  bom  in  849,  and  died  October  28, 
901.  He  succeeded  to  the  crown  of  England  on  the  death 
of  Ethelred,  his  brother,  in  871.     His  literary  activity  was 

'M.  Trautmann   "Kynewulf  der  Bischof  und  Dichter"    (1898). 


20 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


restricted  to  the  few  years  that  followed  his  defeat  of  the 
Danes  in  878.  In  character,  his  works  embraced  poetry, 
history,  geography,  moral  philosophy,  and  legislation,  and 
they  form  a  valuable  part  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  literature. 
His  translation,  or  rather  paraphrase  of  Boethius'  "Con- 
solation" he  began  about  884.  The  following  lines  are 
among  the  best  specimens  of  his  work.  They  are  from 
meter  VI.  of  the  forty-seven  meters  into  which  Alfred 
divided  the  work,  and  they  are  given  side  by  side  with  a 
literal  translation  in  Modem  English. 


On  Change 
]>a,  se  Wisdom  eft 
Word-hord  onleac, 
San  soJ?-ewidas, 
And  J'us  selfa  ewoej? : 

J?onne  sio  sunne 
Sweotolost  seine)? 
Hadrost  of  hefone, 
Hioe)7e  bio]?  a]?istrod 
Ealle  ofer  eor)?an 
0)7re  steorran; 
For]7oem  hiora  birhtu 
Ne  bij?  auht 
So  gesettanne 
With  JJoere  sunnan  leoht. 
]?onne  smolte  bloewj? 
Sou]7an  and  westan. 
Wind  under  wolcnum, 
j7onne  weaxa)?  hra]7e. 
Feldes  blostman, 
Foegan  JJoet  hi  moton. 
Ac  se  stearea  storm 
]?onne  he  strong  cymj? 
Norl>an  and  eastan, 
He  genimej?  hra]?e 
J?oere  rosen  white 


Translation 
Then  Wisdom  afterward 
Word-hoard  unlocked, 
Sang  various  maxims, 
And  thus  himself  expressed; 

When  the  Sun 
Clearest  shineth 
Serenest  in  the  heaven, 
Quickly  are  obscured 
All  over  the  earth 
Other  stars ; 

Because  their  brightness 
Is  not  aught 
When  set  beside 
With  that  Sun's  light. 
When  mildly  bloweth 
Southern  and  western 
Wind  under  clouds, 
Then  wax  rathly 
The  field's  blossoms. 
Joyful  that  they  may. 
But  the  stark  storm, 
When  he  strong  cometh 
Northern  and  eastern, 
He  taketh  away  rathly 
The  roses'  beauty. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH 


21 


On  Change 
And  eac  )?a  ruman  soe, 
Nor]?erne  yst 
Nede  geboeded 
)?oet  hio  strange  geondstyred, 
On  sta)?u  beate}?. 

Ea  la !  J?oet  on  eor]?an 
Auht  foeslices 
Weorces  on  worulde 
Ne  wuna)?  oefre! 


Translation 
And  eke  the  roomy  sea, 
By  northern  storm 
Of  necessity  bidden 
That  it  be  strongly  stirred  up, 
On  the  shore  beateth. 

Alas!  that  upon  earth 
Aught  fast-fixed 
Work  in  the  world 
Ne'er  abideth  forever! 


The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  is  the  most  important  of  all 
our  historical  documents,  for  it  treats  of  the  earliest  part 
of  English  history.  Starting  with  the  Christian  era,  it 
extends,  in  the  latest  copy,  to  1154.  It  consists  of  six  manu- 
scripts, and  a  part  of  a  seventh,  which  are  distributed  (1) 
in  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge;  (2-6)  in  the  Cot- 
tonian  Collection  of  the  British  Museum;  (7)  in  the  Bod- 
leian Library,  at  Oxford.  They  have  been  identified  with 
the  several  great  religious  establishments  in  Southern 
England.  The  first,  with  Winchester ;  the  second,  with  St. 
Augustine's,  Canterbury;  the  third,  with  Abingdon;  the 
fourth,  with  Worcester;  the  fifth,  with  Peterborough;  the 
sixth,  which  is  in  Latin  and  Saxon,  with  Canterbury.  The 
seventh,  of  which  only  a  fragment  remains,  is  a  late  copy 
of  the  first,  and  was  printed  in  full  by  Wheloc  of  Cambridge, 
in  1643,  before  it  was  destroyed  by  the  Cottonian  fire  in 
1723.  A  recent  edition  of  the  "Chronicle,"  was  edited  by 
the  Rev,  C.  Plummer,  and  issued  by  the  Clarendon  Press, 
Oxford,  in  1899,  under  the  title  ''Two  of  the  Saxon  Chron- 
icles parallel." 

The  ''Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle"  took  centuries  to  produce. 
Plegmund,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  is  credited  with  its 
compilation  up  to  the  year  891.     In  compiling  it  he  drew 


22 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


freely  from  Bede's  History,  already  referred  to.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract  from  ''The  Chronicle"  (a.d.,  449), 
with  translation. 


Chronicle 

Da  comon  pa,  men  of  J?rim 
meg?5um  Germaniae,  of  Ald- 
Seaxum,  of  Anglum,  of  Jotum. 

Of  Jotum  comon  Cantware 
and  Wihtware,  pset  is  seo 
m8eia?5,  pe  nu  eardaj?  on  Wiht, 
and  J?3Bt  cyn  on  West-Sexum  Se 
man  gyt  haet  lutnaeyu.  Of 
Eald-Seaxum  comon  E  a  s  t  - 
Seax'an,  and  SuS-Seaxan,  and 
West-Seax'an.  Of  Angle  comon 
(se  a  siSSan  stod  westig  betwix 
Iiitum  and  Seaxum)  East-En- 
gle,  Middel-Angle,  Mearce,  and 
ealle  NorSymbra. 


Translation 

Then  came  there  men  of 
three  powers  of  Germany, 
from  Old  Saxons,  from  Angles, 
from  Jutes. 

From  the  Jutes  came  [the 
people]  of  Kent  and  of  Wight, 
that  is,  the  race  that  now 
dwells  in  Wight  and  that  kin 
[tribe]  of  the  West  Sax'ons, 
the  ones  [those]  yet  called  the 
Jute  race.  Of  the  Old  Saxons 
came  the  East  Saxons,  and 
South  Saxons,  and  West 
Saxons.  Of  the  Angles,  who 
have  occupied  the  waste^  be- 
twixt the  Jutes  and  the  Sax- 
ons, came  the  East  Angles, 
Mercians,  and  all  the  North- 
umbrians. 


Alfric  the  Grammarian,  about  whose  identity  authorities 
differ,  was  one  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  writers  of  the  later  days. 
He  was  the  author  of  "Eighty  Homilies"  written  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  for  the  use  of  the  common  people.  Besides  these  he 
wrote  a  Latin  grammar,  whence  his  agnomen. 

With  the  passing  of  the  glory  of  the  West  Saxon  king- 
dom the  supremacy  of  the  West  Saxon  dialect  came  to  an 
end.  This  was  brought  about  by  Danish  incursions  which 
checked  progress,  arrested  culture,  and  blasted  all  the  hopes 
of  an  advancing  civilization. 


«  Untilled  land. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  23 

The  Danes,  or  the  Scandinavian  pirates,  as  they  might 
perhaps  better  be  called,  came  as  a  blight  upon  the  land 
and  for  nearly  two  and  a  half  centuries — from  the  sack  of 
Landisfame  to  the  accession  of  Canute — they  ravaged  the 
land,  terrorized  the  people,  burned  their  homes,  their 
churches,  monasteries,  and  schools.  Under  such  conditions 
neither  language  nor  literature  flourished.  Through  the 
fall  of  Anglo-Saxon  supremacy,  achieved  by  the  Norman 
conquest  of  England  in  1066,  the  English  language,  though 
still  spoken  to  some  extent,  was  gradually  superseded  by 
Latin  and  Norman  French,  and  by  the  year  1150  the  Old 
English  period  drew  to  a  close. 

2.   The  Early  Middle  English  Period:  the  Chronicles 
OF  the  Monks 

This  period  extended  from  1150  to  1350,  when  the 
Chaucerian  Period  began.  During  the  first  century  of  the 
Early  Middle  English  Period  the  full  inflections  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  Period  were  broken  up,  and  during  the  second 
a  large  number  of  Latin  words  that  had  been  Gallicized, 
and  assimilated  by  both  Norman  and  Parisian,  were  intro- 
duced into  English  as  French  either  through  the  Norman 
dialect  or  through  the  Parisian  speech. 

Latin  was  the  language  of  the  scholars,  and  "William  the 
Conqueror  fostered  this  by  replacing  the  few  remaining 
Saxon  prelates  whose  scholarship  was  behind  the  times  by 
abler  men,  such  as  Lanfranc  and  Anselm.  In  addition  to 
this  he  built  many  abbeys  and  convents  where  men  of 
learning  could  study  and  commit  their  thoughts  to  parch- 
ment in  quietude  and  peace.  He  established  schools  and 
raised  the  great  seminaries  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  to 
the  rank  of  universities. 


24  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  eventual  result  of  the  Norman  Conquest  was  largely 
a  reconstruction  of  the  English  vocabulary  for,  after  having 
adopted  Gallicized  Latin  as  English  speech,  the  people  were 
not  slow  to  convert  such  other  words  as  they  needed  to 
their  use.  By  this  means  the  English  vocabulary  was  much 
enlarged,  and  after  the  Renaissance — a  period  dating  from 
the  accession  of  Charles  VIII.  (1483)  to  that  of  Francis  I. 
(1515) — a  very  marked  increase  in  the  number  of  words 
obtained  from  the  same  source  is  to  be  noted. 

Then,  when  French  words  of  Latin  coinage  were  used  in 
speech  or  writing  they  gradually  passed  as  English  cur- 
rency and  suffered  all  pains  and  penalties  for  their  intru- 
sion; that  is,  "they  were  subjected  to  all  the  duties  and 
liabilities  of  English  words  in  the  same  position."® 

During  this  period  confusion  of  grammatical  forms  was 
the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  Side  by  side  might  be 
seen  the  full  inflections  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  the  broken 
inflections  of  the  Transition  Period  by  which  name  this,  the 
Middle  Period,  is  sometimes  known.  On  account  of  these 
broken  inflections  this  period  is  sometimes  called  also  the 
Semi-Saxon.  This  breaking  down  or  leveling  of  inflections 
was  completed  by  1250. 

In  his  "History  of  the  English  Language,"  Dr.  Emerson 
points  out  that,  although  the  introduction  of  Norman 
French  is  generally  credited  to  the  Norman  conquest  and 
its  results,  French  influence  in  England  dates  from  the 
accession  of  Edward  the  Confessor  (1041),^"  and,  says  he, 
"It  is  not  improbable  that  some  words  appearing  in  the 
written  documents  of  a  later  time  now  first  entered  the 
spoken  language." 

*  "Encyclopedia  Britannica,"   VIII,    393. 
"Pp.  51,  52. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  25 

The  same  authority  attributes  the  introduction  of 
Angevin,  the  dialect  spoken  in  Anjou,  into  English  to  the 
accession  of  Henry  of  Anjou,  as  sovereign  of  England. 
(1154) 

Although  Norman  influence  waned  with  the  loss  of  the 
dukedom  of  Normandy,  still  the  influence  of  Parisian 
French  upon  the  English  language  continued  during  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  it  has  exerted 
itself  more  or  less  sporadically  ever  since.  But  the 
waning  of  the  influence  referred  to  can  not  be  better  shown 
than  by  citing  an  ofificial  proclamation  of  Henry  III.  to  the 
people  of  Huntingdonshire  in  1258^^ — just  one  century 
later  than  the  accession  of  Henry  of  Anjou,  perhaps  better 
known  as  Henry  Plantagenet,  the  first  English  king  of  the 
Plantagenet  line.  This  proclamation  passes  as  one  of  the 
earliest  specimens  of  official  English,  for  that  bulwark  of 
the  British  constitution,  the  Great  Charter,  sealed,  but  not 
signed  as  is  commonly  stated,  by  John  at  "Runingmede 
inter  Windlesorum  (Windsor)  et  Staines,"  June  15,  1215, 
was  drafted  in  Latin. 

Proclamation  Modern  English 
"Henry,  }7urg  Godes  ful-  Henry,  through  God's  sup- 
tome,  King  on  Engleneloande,  port,  King  of  England,  Lord  of 
Ihoaurd  on  Yrloand,  Duke  on  Ireland,  Duke  of  Normandy,  of 
Normand,  on  Acquitain,  Eorl  Acquitain,  Earl  of  Anjou, 
on  Anjou,  send  I  greting,  to  sends  greeting,  to  all  his  sub- 
alle  hise  holde,  il^erde  &  ile-  jects,  learned  and  unlearned 
werde  on  Huntingdonschiere.  (i.e.,    clergy     and     laity)     of 

"J?at    witen    ge    well    alle,  Huntingdonshii-e. 

J?aet     we    willen     &     u  n  n  e  n  This  know  ye  well  all,  that 

(grant)  J^aet  ure  raedesmen  alle  we  will   and   grant,  what   our 

other,  I?e  moare  del  of  heom,  counselors  all  or  the  more  part 

"  "Henry's  History,"   Vol.  VIII,   app.   iv. 


26 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


Proclamation 
pas  beo]?  ichosen  J^urg  us  and 
purg  peet  loandes-folk  on  ure 
Kuneriehe,  habbi]?  idon,  and 
sehullen  don,  in  J?e  wor]?nes 
of  God,  and  ure  treow]?e,  for 
pe  freme  of  pe  loande,  J'urg 
pe  besigte  of  ]?an  toforen 
iseide  rasdesmen,  beo  stedfaest 
and  ilestinde  in  alle  J^inge 
abutan  gende,  and  we  beaten 
alle  ure  treowe,  in  th€|k^eow]?e 
pset  heo  us  ogen,  y^t  beo 
stedefaestliche  healden  &  weren 
to  healden  &  to  swerien  pe 
isetnesses  )7set  beon  makede 
and  beo  to  makien,  J?urg  )?an 
to  foren  iseide  raedesmen,  o)?er 
pnrg  pe  moare  del  of  heom 
alswo,  alse  hit  is  biforen  iseide 

And  ]?et  ashc  o]?er  helpe  past 
for  to  done  bi]?am  ilche  o|7er, 
aganes  alle  men  in  alle  ]7et 
heo  ogt  for  to  done,  and  to 
foangen.  And  noan  ne  nime  of 
loande,  ne  of  egetewhere,  f'urg 
Jjis  besigte  muge  beon  ilet 
o]?er  iwersed  on  onie  wise. 
And  gif  oni  o]7er  onie  cumen 
her  ongenes,  we  willen  & 
hoaten,  past  alle  ure  treowe 
heom  healden  deadliche  ifoan. 

And  for  )?8et  we  willen  past 
]7is  beo  stsedfast  and  lestinde, 
we  senden  gew  )7is  writ  open, 
iseined  wi]?  ure  seel,  to  balden 
amanges  gew  ine  hord.  Witnes 
usselven     ast     Lunda^n,     ]78ene 


Modern  English 
of  them,  that  be  chosen  through 
us  and  through  the  land's-folk 
of  our  kingdom,  have  done, 
and  shall  do,  to  the  honor  of 
God,  and  in  allegiance  to  us, 
for  the  good  of  the  land, 
through  the  determination  of 
those  beforesaid  counselors, 
be  stedfast  and  lasting  in  all 
things  without  end,  and  we 
enjoin  all  our  lieges,  by  the 
allegiance  that  they  us  owe, 
that  they  stedfastly  hold  and 
swear  to  hold  and  to  main- 
tain the  ordinances  that  be 
made,  and  be  to  be  made 
through  the  before-said  coun- 
selors, or  through  the  more 
part  of  them  also,  as  it  is 
before-said. 

And  that  each  help  the 
other  for  to  do  by  them  each 
other,  against  all  men,  in  all 
that  they  ought  for  to  do,  and 
to  promote.  And  none  is  to 
take  land,  nor  property  where- 
by this  business  may  be  im- 
peded or  damaged  in  any  way. 
And  if  any  man  or  any  woman 
Cometh  them  against,  we  will 
and  enjoin  that  all  our  lieges 
them  hold  deadly  foes. 

And  for  that  we  will  that 
this  be  stedfast  and  lasting,  we 
send  you  this  writ  open,  sealed 
with  our  seal,  to  keep  amongst 
you  in  store.   "Witness  ourself 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  27 

Proclamation  Modern  English 

egeteten)?e  day  on  the  inon]?e  at  London,  the  eighteenth  day 

of    Octobr,    in    J?e    two    and  of  the  month  of  October,  in  the 

fowertig]7e  geare  of  ure  crun-  two  and  fortieth  year  of  our 

ninge."  crowning. 

With  the  accession  of  Edward  III.  (1327),  the  English 
tongue,  as  then  spoken,  virtually  deposed  the  French  as 
the  official  language.  One  of  the  statutes  of  his  reign 
decrees  that: 

"...  All  pleas  which  shall  be  pleaded  in  his  courts  what- 
soever, before  any  of  his  justices  whatsoever,  or  in  his  other 
places  or  before  any  of  his  ministers  whatsoever,  or  in  the 
courts  and  places  of  any  other  lords  whatsoever  within  the 
realm,  shall  be  pleaded,  showed,  defended,  answered,  debated 
and  judged  in  the  English  tongue-"^^ 

The  chief  writers  of  this  period  were:  (1)  William  of 
Malmesbury,  who  wrote  in  Latin  a  "History  of  English 
Kings,"  which  dates  from  the  landing  of  the  Saxons  to  the 
year  1120.  (2)  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  a  Welsh  monk  to 
whom  we  owe  the  preservation  of  the  legends  of  the  Celtic 
race  which  he  recorded  in  his  "History  of  the  Britons." 
The  story  of  King  Arthur  and  the  Knights  of  the  Round 
Table  is  to  be  found  in  this  work.     Geoffrey  died  in  1154. 

Geoffrey's  "History,"  which  appeared  in  1147,  was 
dedicated  to  Robert  of  Gloucester.  It  professed  to  be  a 
translation  of  an  ancient  history  of  Britain,  written  in  the 
Cymric,  offered  to  Geoffrey  by  Walter  Calenius.  Owing 
to  its  imaginative  genius,  the  work  proved  very  popular, 
and  was  abridged  by  Alfred  of  Beverley  in  1150  and  trans- 
lated into  Anglo-Norman  verse  by  Geoffrey  Gaimar  in 
1154,  and  also  by  Wace  in  1180.  In  1718  Aaron  Tliomp- 
son  translated  it  into  English,  and  a  revision  of  this  trans- 
it Statutes  of  the  Realm,   I.  p.  376. 


28  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

lation  was  made  by  John  Giles  in  1842.  This  forms  one 
of  the  "Six  Old  English  Chronicles"  in  Bohn's  Anti- 
quarian Library.  The  following  is  a  modernized  extract 
from  the  "History  of  the  Britons": 

Albion  Divided  Between  Brutus  and  Corineus 

"The  island  was  then  called  Albion,  and  was  inhabited  by 
none  but  a  few  giants.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  pleasant 
situation  of  the  places,  the  plenty  of  rivers  abounding  with 
fish,  and  the  engaging  prospect  of  its  woods,  made  Brutus  and 
his  company  very  desirous  to  fix  their  habitation  in  it.  They 
therefore  passed  through  all  the  provinces,  forced  the  giants  to 
fly  into  the  caves  of  the  mountains,  and  divided  the  country 
among  them  according  to  the  directions  of  their  commander. 
After  this  they  began  to  till  the  ground  and  build  houses,  so 
that  in  a  little  time  the  country  looked  like  a  place  that  had 
been  long  inhabited.  At  last  Brutus  called  the  island  after  his 
own  name  Britain,  and  his  companions,  Britons;  for  by  these 
means  he  desired  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  name.  From 
whence  afterwards  the  language  of  the  nation,  which  at  first 
bore  the  name  of  Trojan,  or  rough  Greek,  was  called  British. 
But  Corineus,  in  imitation  of  his  leader,  called  that  part  of  the 
island  which  fell  to  his  share,  Corinea,  and  his  people  Corineans, 
after  his  name;  and  though  he  had  his  choice  of  the  provinces 
before  all  the  rest,  yet  he  preferred  this  country,  which  is  now 
called  in  Latin  Cornubia,  either  from  its  being  in  the  shape  of 
a  horn  (in  Latin  Cornu),  or  from  the  corruption  of  the  said 
name.  For  it  was  a  diversion  to  him  to  encounter  the  said 
giants,  which  were  in  greater  numbers  there  than  in  all  the 
other  provinces  that  fell  to  the  share  of  his  companions. 
Among  the  rest  was  one  detestable  monster,  Goemagot,  in  stature 
twelve  cubits,  and  of  such  prodigious  strength  that  at  one  shake 
he  pulled  up  an  oak  as  if  it  had  been  a  hazel  wand.  On  a 
certain  day,  when  Brutus  was  holding  a  solemn  festival  to  the 
gods,  in  the  port  where  they  had  first  landed,  this  giant  with 
twenty  more  of  his  companions  came  in  upon  the  Britons,  among 
whom  he  made  a  dreadful  slaughter.     But  the  Britons  at  last, 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  29 

assembling  together  in  a  bodj^,  put  them  to  the  rout,  and  killed 
them  every  one  but  Goemagot.  Brutus  had  given  orders  to 
have  him  preserved  alive,  out  of  a  desire  to  see  a  combat  between 
him  and  Corineus,  who  took  a  great  pleasure  in  such  encounters. 
Corineus,  overjoyed  at  this,  prepared  himself,  and  throwing 
aside  his  arms,  challenged  him  to  wrestle  with  him.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  encounter,  Corineus  and  the  giant,  standing 
front  to  front,  held  each  other  strongly  in  their  arms,  and 
panted  aloud  for  breath;  but  Goemagot  presently  grasping 
Corineus  with  all  his  might,  broke  three  of  his  ribs,  two  on  his 
right  side  and  one  on  his  left.  At  which  Corineus,  highly 
enraged,  roused  up  his  whole  strength,  and  snatching  him  upon 
his  shoulders,  ran  with  him,  as  fast  as  the  weight  would  allow 
him,  to  the  next  shore,  and  there  getting  upon  the  top  of  a  high 
rock,  hurled  down  the  savage  monster  into  the  sea;  where 
falling  on  the  sides  of  craggy  rocks,  he  was  torn  to  pieces, 
and  colored  the  waves  with  his  blood.  The  place  where  he  fell, 
taking  its  name  from  the  giant's  fall,  is  called  Lam  Goemagot, 
that  is,  Goemagot's  Leap,  to  this  day. ' ' 

The  transition  of  the  language  from  Anglo-Saxon  to  the 
English  of  Chaucer  and  Wyeliffe  is  seen  in  Robert  of 
Gloucester's  "Rhyming  Chronicle,"  which  was  written 
after  1278,  and  consists  of  10,000  lines.  An  edition  of  the 
"Chronicle"  was  issued  by  Heame  in  two  volumes  in 
1724,  and  reprinted  in  1810.  Of  this  work  three  manu- 
scripts are  extant:  the  Bodleian,  the  Cottonian,  and  the 
Harleian.  Very  little  is  known  of  the  author,  who  lived 
about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Evesham  (1265),  His 
work  is  a  history  of  English  affairs  from  the  arrival  in 
Britain  of  the  fabulous  Brutus  to  the  close  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  III.  Its  matter,  in  metrical  verse,  is  drawn 
chiefly  from  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  and  William  of  Mal- 
mesbury,  but  sheds  some  light  on  conditions  in  England 
when  the  language  spoken  and  taught    was    principally 


30  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Norman  French.     This  is  what  Robert  of  Gloucester  tells 
us  about  it: 

Wyllam,  J?ys  noble  due,  ]>o  he  adde  ydo  al  )?ys, 

William;  this  noble  duke,  when  he  had  done  all  this, 
]>en  way  he  nome  to  Londone  he  &  al  hys 

Then  took  his  way  to  London,  he  and  all  his  [men], 
As  kyng  &  prince  of  lond,  wyj?  nobleye  ynou. 

As  king  and  prince  of  the  land,  with  nobles  enough. 
Agen  hym  wyj?  vayre  processyon  ]?at  fole  of  town  drou, 

Against  [toward]  him  came  the  folk  of  the  town  with  a  fair 
[fine]  procession 
And  vnderuonge  hym  vayre  ynou,  as  kyng  of  ]?ys  lond. 

And  received  him  with  fair  [great]  honor,  as  king  of  this  land. 
|?us  come  lo !  Engelond  into  Normannes  honde, 

Thus  came,  formerly,  England  into  the  Norman's  hands. 
And  ]?e  Normans  ne  coulee  speke  ]?o  bote  her  owe  speche, 

And  the  Normans  could  not  speak  any  but  their  oivn  speech, 
And  speke  French  as  dude  atom  &  here  chyldren  dude  al  so 

teche. 

And  spake  French  as  they  did  at  home,  and  their  children 
did  also  teach. 
So  J'at  heymen  of  J'ys  lond,  I?at  of  her  blod  come, 

So  that  the  high  [great]  men  of  this  land,  that  of  their  blood 
came, 
Holdej?  alle  ]?ulke  speche,  Ipat  hii  of  hem  nome. 

All  hold  [used]  this  speech  that  they  from  home  took. 
Vor  bote  a  man  couj^e  French,  me  tol]?  of  hym  wel  lute. 

For  but  [unless]  a  man  could  [knew]  French,  of  him  very 
little  was  cared  [thought], 
Ac  lowe  men  holde]?  to  Englyss,  &  to  her  kunde  speche  yute. 

Anl  low  [humble]  men  holdeth  [held]  to  English,  and  to  their 
kind  [native]  speech  yet. 
Ich  wene  per  ne  be  man  in  world  contreyes  none, 

I  ween  there  he  no  man,  none  in  the  world  countries, 
Ipat  ne  holde]?  to  her  kunde  speche,  bote  Engelond  one. 

That  not  holdeth  to  their  kind  [native]  speech,  but  England 
alone. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH 


31 


Ac  wol  me  wot  vorto  conne  bate  wel  yt  ys 

And  well  I  wot  [know]  for  to  understand  both  well  it  is, 

Vor  pe  more  J?at  a  man  eon,  pe  more  worj?  he  ys.^^ 

For  the  more  a  man  knows,  the  more  worthy  he  is. 

Of  the  Norman  French  writers  Wace  is  the  best  known. 
He  was  the  author  of  "Brut  d 'Angleterre "  and  "Roman  de 
Rou. ' '  The  first  of  these  is  a  translation  into  romance  verse 
of  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth's  "History  of  Britons,"  and  con- 
sists of  1,800  lines.  The  second  relates  the  history  of  the 
Dukes  of  Normandy  from  Rollo  to  Henry  II.  The  account 
of  the  battle  of  Hastings  is  the  chief  feature  of  this  poem. 

Layamon,  or  Laweman  as  he  is  sometimes  called,  a  priest 
of  Eniley  (modern  Arley),  Worcestershire,  who  flourished 
between  1155  and  1200,  translated  Wace's  "Brut  d 'Angle- 
terre ' '  into  semi-Saxon.  Layamon 's  work  is,  however,  more 
than  double  the  length  of  that  by  Wace.  The  following  is 
a  description  of  how  the  work  was  done : 


Layamon 
He  nom  J?a  Englisea  boo 
J?a  makede  Seint  Beda  ; 
An  oJ?er  he  nom  on  Latin, 
]>a  makede  Seinte  Albin, 
And  ]>e  feire  Austin, 
]?e  fulhiht  broiite  hider  in. 
Boo  he  nom  pa  J?ridde, 
Leide  per  amidden, 
J?a  makede  a  Frenehis  clerc, 
Wace  was  ihoten, 
pe  wel  con)?e  writen. 
And  he  hoe  yef  )?are  aej^elen 
Aelienor,    pe    wes    Henries 

quene, 
pes  heyes  kinj^es. 

'*  "Robert   of   Gloucpster,"   p.    304. 


Translation 
He  took  the  English  book 
That  Saint  Bede  made; 
Another  he  took  in  Latin, 
That  Saint  Albin  made, 
And  the  fair  Austin, 
That  baptism  brought  hither  in. 
The  third  book  he  took, 
[And]  laid  there  in  midst, 
That  made  a  French  clerk, 
Wace  was  [he]  called. 
That  well  could  write, 
And  he  it  gave  to  the  noble 
Eleanor,     tliat     was     Henry's 

queen, 
The  high  king's. 


32 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


Layamon 
Layamon  leide  ]?eos  boe, 

And  ]?a  leaf  wende. 
He  heom  leofliche  bi-heold; 
Lij7e  him  beo  Drihten. 
re]?eren  he  nom  mid  fingren, 

And  fiede  on  boc-felle, 
And  ]>a  soJ?e  word 
Sette  to-ga]?ere, 
And  ]?a  pre  boe 
Jjrumde  to  ane. 


Translation 
Layamon    laid    [before    him] 

these  books, 
And  the  leaves  turned. 
He  them  lovingly  beheld; 
Merciful  to  him  be  [the]  Lord. 
Feather     [pen]    he   took   with 

fingers, 
And  wrote  on  book-skin, 
And  the  true  words 
Set  together. 
And  the  three  books 
Compressed  into  one. 


A  work  commonly  assigned  to  the  time  of  Layamon  is 
"The  Ormulum,"  from  its  writer's  name  which  is  variously 
given  as  Ormin  or  Orm.  This  is  a  metrical  work  of  some 
length,  consisting  of  a  series  of  homilies  based  upon  the 
New  Testament.  The  following  lines,  selected  from  the 
Dedication  to  the  author's  brother  Walter,  are  interlined 
with  Modern  English  as  an  aid  to  comparison. 

Nu,  brotherr  Wallterr,  brotherr  min 

Now,  brother  Walter,  brother  mine 
Affterr  the  flaeshes  kinde; 

After  the  flesh's  kind 
Annd  brotherr  min  i  Crisstenndom 

And  brother  mine  in  Christendom 
Thurrh  fulluhht  and  thurrh  trowwthe; 

Through  baptism  and  through  truth 
Annd  brotherr  min  i  Godess  hus. 

And  brother  mine  in  God's  house 
Yet  o  the  thride  wise, 

Yet  of  the  third  wise 
Thurrh  thatt  witt  hafenn  takenn  ba 

Though  that  we  two  have  taken  both 
An  reghellboc  to  folghenn. 

One  rule-book  to  follow 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  33 

Unnderr  kanunnkess  had  and  lif, 

Under  canonic's  rank  and  life 
Swa  summ  Sannt  Awwstin  sette; 

So  as  St.  Austin  set 
Ice  hafe  don  swa  summ  thu  badd 

I  have  done  so  as  thou  bade 
Annd  forthedd  te  thin  wille; 

And  performed  thee  thine  will 
Ice  hafe  wennd  inntill  Ennglissh 

I  have  wended^^  into  English 
Goddspelless  hallghe  lare, 

Gospel's  holy  lore 
Affterr  thatt  little  witt  tatt  me 

After  that  little  wit  that  me 
Min  Drihhtin  hafethth  lenedd. 

My  Lord  hath  lent 
Thu  thohhtesst  tatt  itt  mihhte  well 

Thou  thoughtest  that  it  might  well 
Till  mickell  frame  turrnenn 

To  mickle^^  profit  turn 
Yiff  Ennglissh  follk,  forr  lufe  oS.  Crist, 

If  English  folk  for  love  of  Christ 
Itt  wollde  yerne  lernenn, 

It  would  earnestly  learn 
Annd  follghenn  itt,  and  fillenn  itt 

And  follow  it,  and  fulfil  it 
Withth  thohht,  withth  word,  withth  dede. 

With  thought,  with  word,  with  deed 
Annd  forrthi  gerrndesst  tu  thatt  ice 

And  because  thou  desiredest  that  I 
Thiss  werre  the  shollde  wirrkenn; 

This  work  thee  should  work 
Annd  ice  itt  hafe  forthedd  te, 

And  I  it  have  performed  thee 
Ace  all  thurrh  Cristess  hellpe; 

But  all  through  Christ's  help 

"  Turned.  "  Much. 


34  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Annd  unne  biiTth  bathe  thannkenn  Crist 

And  us  two  it  becomes  both  [to]  thank  Christ 
Thatt  itt  iss  brohht  till  ende. 
That  it  is  brought  to  end 

3.  The  Late  Middle  English  or  Chaucerian  Period 

During  the  early  years  of  the  Chaucerian  Period  the 
language  of  the  English  people  was  fostered  by  the  min- 
strels and  the  monks.  In  feudal  times  minstrels  were 
attached  to  noble  Houses,  and  as  appreciated  guests  sang 
their  ballads  of  love  and  war  in  the  dining-hall  after  the 
meal  had  been  served  and  the  mead  began  to  flow.  These 
men  bore  as  a  badge  of  office  a  wrest  or  tuning-key.  There 
were  also  minstrels  of  another  class  who  roamed  over  the 
land,  spreading  the  language  from  hall  to  hall  or  from  inn 
to  inn — singing,  juggling,  and  miming  for  their  bed  and 
board.  Often  they  traveled  in  groups  of  two  or  three, 
then  the  minstrel  provided  the  music,  the  poet  sang,  and 
the  juggler  (French  jongleur)  mimed  to  the  great  delight 
of  the  people.  Except  at  the  monastery  gates  the  min- 
strels always  found  welcome.  They  were  unpopular  with 
the  monks  because  their  songs  often  showed  scant  respect 
for  the  men  of  the  cloister,  whom  they  decried  and  ridiculed 
until  the  churchmen,  roused  by  the  vicious  doggerel  which 
the  minstrels  sang  or  droned  in  the  public  market-places, 
determined  to  check  their  pernicious  influence  by  intro- 
ducing mystery-plays — plays  founded  upon  incidents  in 
the  Bible.    These  were  the  earliest  English  plays. 

In  those  days  the  monks  were  the  scholars  and  monas- 
teries were  centers  of  learning.  The  cowled  transcriber 
was  a  silent,  assiduous,  painstaking  worker,  who  spent  hours 
alone  in  the  scriptorium  in  translating  or  transcribing  the 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  35 

Holy  Scriptures,  or  in  illuminating  with  brilliant  colors 
some  Missal  or  Psalter  which  has  since  come  down  to  us 
as  a  triumph  of  bygone  ages. 

In  the  meantime  the  blending  of  the  French  and  the 
English  tongues  had  progressed  slowly  yet  steadily  from 
the  thirteenth  century,  when  translators  began  to  intro- 
duce in  their  works  French  words  that  were  currently  in- 
telligible. It  was  not  long  thereafter  that  the  best  of 
French  books  issued  were  translated  into  English  despite 
the  opposition  to  this  course  from  such  men  as  Robert 
Grosseteste,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  who  strove,  but  in  vain, 
to  have  French  retained  as  the  literary  language  and 
English  relegated  to  the  inferior  position  of  a  dialect  for 
use  in  intercourse  with  the  common  people — a  language  to 
be  shunned  by  the  polite  society  of  his  day.  To  speak 
French  was  then  the  ''craze"  of  the  day,  but  according 
to  John  de  Trevisa,  after  the  year  of  the  "grete  deth" 
(1348),  there  came  a  sudden  change  which  was  due  prob- 
ably to  the  French  "War,  which  began  with  the  battle  of 
Cadsant  (an  islet  between  Flushing  and  Sluys),  in  1337, 
and  terminated  with  the  Peace  of  Bretigny  in  1360. 

Englishmen,  under  the  command  of  the  Black  Prince, 
then  crossed  the  Pyrenees,  through  the  Pass  of  Roncesvalles, 
and  fought  the  Spaniards  at  Navarre tta  in  1367.  From 
this  event  dates  the  beginning  of  the  entrance  of  the  direct 
Spanish  element  into  English.  It  is  possible,  of  course, 
that  even  before  this  date  some  Spanish  words  found  their 
way  into  English  through  the  French.  It  is  possible,  also, 
that  the  Crusades  in  which  English  soldiers  took  part  may 
have  had  some  influence  on  the  language.  For  it  is  in- 
conceivable that  any  large  body  of  men  could  travel  to  and 
from  the  Holy  Land,  remain  there  a  twelvemonth  or  more, 


36  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

come  into  contact  with  foreigners,  and  not  bring  back  with 
them  some  terms  for  which  they  had  no  equivalent  in  their 
native  tongue.  Certain  it  is  that  in  the  language  to-day  we 
have  a  number  of  words  derived  from  the  Arabic,  and 
others  which  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Turkish. 

To  King  Henry  IV.  of  England,  who  spent  years  of 
exile  in  Prussia,  but  returned  to  England,  deposed  his 
cousin  Richard  II.,  and  ascended  the  throne  in  1399,  as 
well  as  to  his  retainers,  we  may,  perhaps,  attribute  the 
introduction  of  certain  Prussian  words  into  English. 

The  great  writers  of  the  Chaucerian  Period  were  Jehan 
de  Mandeville,  reputed  in  English  literature;  "Sir  John 
de  Mandeville,"  described  as  the  earliest  writer  of  English 
prose;  John  de  "Wycliffe,  translator  of  the  Bible;  Geoffrey 
Chaucer,  the  father  of  English  poetry;  John  Gower,  his 
friend,  and  the  ill-fated  King  James  I.  of  Scotland. 

Sir  John  de  Mandeville,  of  whose  identity  some  author- 
ities express  doubt,  is  stated  to  have  been  bom  about  1300, 
and  to  have  died  in  1372.  In  1356,  or  thereabouts,  he  is 
said  to  have  returned  from  a  journey  to  distant  and  strange 
lands  on  which  he  had  set  out  in  1334,  and  written  a  "Nar- 
rative of  his  Travels"^®  in  Latin.  This  work  was  sub- 
sequently translated  into  French,  and  therefrom  into 
English.  In  the  writer's  own  words  the  reader  is  told  in 
the  introduction  to  this  book  that: 

I  have  put  this  book  out  of  Latin  into  French,  and  translated 
it  agen  out  of  French  into  English,  that  every  man  of  my  nation 
may  miderstand  it  But  lords  and  knights,  and  other  noble 
and  worthy  men,  that  con  Latin  but  little,  and  han  ben  beyond 
the  sea,  knowen  and  understonden  gif  I  err  in  devising,  for  for- 

'•  "It  is  in  fact  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that  the  travels  were  in  large 
part  compiled  by  a  Li^ge  physician,  known  as  Johains  k  le  Barbe  or  Jehan 
h  la  Barbe,  otherwise  Jehan  de  Bourgogne." — "Encyc.    Brit.,"  XVII,  p.  561. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  37 

getting  or  else;  that  they  mowe  redress  it  and  amend  it.  For 
things  passed  out,  of  long  time,  from  a  man's  mind,  or  from 
his  sight,  turnen  soon  into  forgetting;  because  that  mind  of 
man  ne  may  not  ben  comprehended  ne  withholden  for  the  freelty 
of  mankind. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  Early  English  prose  from 
Mandeville's  "Of  the  Pilgrymages  in  Jerusalem  and  the 
Holy  Places  thereaboute, "  chapter  vii.,  written  about  1356. 

After  for  to  speke  of  Jerusalem  the  holy  cytee,  zee  schull 
undirstonde  that  it  stont  full  faire  betwene  hilles,  and  there  be 
no  ryveres  ne  welles,  but  watar  cometh  by  condyte  from  Ebron. 
And  zee  schulle  understonde  that  Jerusalem  of  olde  tyme,  unto 
the  tyme  of  Melchisedech,  was  cleped  Jebus:  and  after  it  was 
clept  Salem,  unto  the  tyme  of  Kyng  David,  that  put  these  two 
names  to  gider,  and  cleped  it  Jebusalem.  And  after  that  Kyng 
Salomon  cleped  it  Jerosolomye.  And  after  that  men  cleped  it 
Jerusalem,  and  so  it  is  cleped  zit.  And  aboute  Jerusalem  is 
the  kyngdom  of  Surrye.^^  And  there  besyde,  is  the  lond  of 
Palestyne.  And  besyde  it  is  Ascalon.  And  besyde  that  is  the 
lond  of  Maritanie.  But  Jerusalem  is  in  the  lond  of  Judee; 
and  it  is  clept  Jude,  for  that  Judas  Machabeus  was  kyng  of 
that  contree.  And  it  marcheth  estward  to  the  kyngdom  of 
Arabye;  on  the  south  syde  to  the  lond  of  Egipt;  and  on  the 
west  syde  to  the  grete  see.  On  the  north  syde  toward  the 
kyngdom  of  Surrye,  and  to  the  see  of  Cypre. 

In  Jerusalem  was  wont  to  be  a  Patriark  and  Erchebysshopes, 
and  Bisshoppes  abouten  in  the  contree.  Abowte  Jerusalem  be 
theise  cytees;  Ebron  at  seven  myle,  Jerico  at  six  myle,  Bersabee 
at  eyght  myle,  Ascalon  at  xvii  myle,  Jaff  at  xvi  myle,  Ramatha 
at  iij  myle,  and  Bethleem  at  ij  myle.  And  a  ij  myle  from 
Bethleem  toward  the  southe  is  the  chirche  of  Seynt  Karitot  that 
was  abbot  there,  for  whom  thei  maiden  meche  doel^^  amongs 
the  monks  whan  he  scholde  dye,  and  zit  be  in-moornynge  in  the 
wise  that  thei  maden  her  lamentacon  for  him  the  first  tyme, 
and  it  is  full  gret  pytee  to  beholde. 

"  Syria.  "  Dolor,  grief. 


38  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

John  Wycliffe  or  Wyclif  (the  name  Wy cliff e  owes  its 
origin  to  the  villag'e  Wycliffe-on-Tees) ,  was  born  about 
1324,  in  Yorkshire,  England.  He  entered  Queen's  College, 
Oxford,  in  1340,  and  in  1372  took  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
divinity.  Wycliffe 's  greatest  service  to  literature  lies  in  the 
fact  that  he  undertook  the  translation  into  English  of  the 
whole  Bible.  This  he  produced  between  the  years  1380  and 
1384.  In  the  preface  of  his  "Encyclopedia  of  Quotations," 
p.  323,  Dr.  William  S.  Walsh  states  that  Wycliffe  used  a 
phrase  that  later  writers  and  speakers  have  made  as  fam- 
iliar to  us  as  household  words : ' '  The  Bible  is  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  of  the  people. ' ' " 
An  edition  of  this  work  in  five  volumes  was  printed  by  the 
University  Press  at  Oxford  in  1850. 

The  following  section  of  Wycliffe 's  translation  of  the 
Song  of  Moses  from  the  Book  of  Exodus,  chapter  xv,  verses 
1-19,  shows  the  character  of  English  about  the  year  1380. 

Thanne  Moises  song,  and  tbe  sones  of  Israel,  this  song  to  the 
Lord;  and  thei  seiden,  Synge  we  to  the  Lord  for  he  is  magnafied 
gloriousli;  he  castide  down  the  hors  and  the  stiere  into  the  see. 
My  strengthe  and  my  preisyng  is  the  Lord,  and  he  is  maad  to 
me  into  heelthe ;  this  is  my  God :  y  schal  glorifie  hym  the  God  of 
my  fadir:  and  y  schal  enhaunce  hjTn:  the  Lord  is  as  a  man 
fizten:  his  name  is  almizti.  He  castide  doun  into  the  see 'the 
charis  of  Farao  and  his  oost,  his  chosun  princes  weren  drenchid 
in  the  reed  see,  the  deepe  watris  hiliden  them;  thei  zeden  doun 
into  the  depthe  as  a  stoon.  Lord  thy  rizt  hond  is  magnyfied 
in  strengthe:  Lord  thi  rizt  hond  smoot  the  enemye:  and  in  the 
mychilnesse  of  thi  glorie  thou  hast  put  doun  all  thyn  adver- 
saryes ;  thou  sentist  thine  ire  that  devouride  hem  as  stobil : 
and  watris  weren  gaderid  in  the  spirit  of  thi  woodnesse ;  flowinge 
watir   stood :   depe  watris  weren  gaderid  in   the   middis   of  the 

'*  A  search  for  this  in  the  reprints  in  various  libraries  (there  are  no  orig- 
inals of  the  years  1380-1384  available)  has  not  proved  fruitful;  yet.  as  the 
writ'T  has  been  unable  to  examine  the  orieinal  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library, 
at  Oxford,  he  is  unwilling  to  say  that  Dr.  Walsh  has  been  misled. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  39 

see:  the  enemy  seide,  Y  sehal  pursue  and  y  schal  take,  y  schal 
departe  spuylis:  my  soule  schal  be  fillid:  I  schal  drawe  out  my 
swerde:  myn  hond  schal  sle  hem.  Thi  spirit  blew;  and  the  se.i 
hilide  hem,  thei  weren  drenchid  as  leed,  in  grete  watris.  Lord, 
who  is  Ij'k  thee  in  stronge  men :  who  is  lyk  thee :  thou  art  greet 
doere  in  hoolynesse;  ferdful  and  p'isable,  and  doyng  miracles; 
thou  heldist  forth  thine  hond,  and  the  erthe  devouride  hem: 
Thou  were  ledere,  in  thi  merci,  to  thi  puple,  which  thou  azen 
bouztest,  and  thou  hast  bore  hym,  in  thi  strengthe,  to  thin  holi 
dwellyng  place:  puplis  stieden  and  weren  Avroothe:  sorewis 
helden  the  dwelleris  of  Flistiym;  thane  the  pryncis  of  Edom 
weren  disturblid;  trembling  helde  the  stronge  men  of  Moab: 
all  the  dwelleris  of  Canaan  weren  starke.  Inward  drede  falle 
on  hem:  and  outward  drede  in  the  greetnesse  of  thin  arm.  Be 
thei  maad  unmoovable  as  a  stoon,  til  thi  puple  passe,  lord,  til  this 
thi  puple  passe.  Whom  thou  weldidist,  thou  schalt  brynge  hem 
in  and  thou  schalt  plaunte  in  the  hil  of  thin  eritage:  in  the 
moost  stidefast  dwellyng  place  which  thou  hast  wrodzt,  Lord, 
Lord,  thi  seyntuarie  which  thin  hondis  made  stidefast.  The 
Lord  schal  regne  in  to  the  world  and  ferth'e.  Forsothe  Farao 
a  ridere  entride  with  his  charis  and  knyztis  in  to  the  see :  and 
the  Lord  brouzte  the  watris  of  the  see  on  him;  sotheli  the  sones 
of  Israel  zeden  bi  the  drie  place,  in  the  myddis  of  the  see. 

Translation  According  to  the  Authorized  or  King  James  Version 

Then  sang  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  this  song  unto 
the  Lord,  and  spake,  saying,  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he 
hath  triumphed  gloriously:  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he 
thrown  into  the  sea.  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song,  and  he 
is  become  my  salvation:  he  is  my  God,  and  I  will 
prepare  him  an  habitation ;  my  father's  God,  and  I 
will  ex'alt  him.  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war:  the  Lord 
is  his  name.  Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast  into 
the  sea:  his  chosen  captains  also  are  drowned  in  the  Red  sea. 
The  depths  have  covered  them :  they  sank  into  the  bottom  as  a 
stone.  Thy  right  hand,  0  Lord,  is  become  glorious  in  power :  thy 
right  hand,  0  Lord,  hath  dashed  in  pieces  the  enemy.  And  in  the 
greatness  of  thine  excellency  thou  hast  overthrown  them  that 


40  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

rose  up  against  thee:  thou  sentest  forth  thy  wrath,  which  con- 
sumed them  as  stubble.  And  with  the  blast  of  thy  nostrils  the 
waters  were  gathered  together,  the  floods  stood  upright  as  an 
heap,  and  the  depths  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of  the  sea. 
The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the 
spoil;  my  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them;  I  will  draw  my 
sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy  them.  Thou  didst  blow  with  thy 
wind,  the  sea  covered  them:  they  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty 
waters.  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  0  Lord,  among  the  gods?  who 
is  like  thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  won- 
ders? Thou  stretchedst  out  thy  right  hand,  the  earth  swallowed 
them.  Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  led  forth  the  people  which  thou 
hast  redeemed:  thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy  strength  unto  thy 
holy  habitation.  The  people  shall  hear,  and  be  afraid:  sorrow 
shall  take  hold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Palestina.  Then  the 
dukes  of  Edom  shall  be  amazed;  the  mighty  men  of  Moab, 
trembling  shall  take  hold  upon  them;  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  shall  melt  away.  Fear  and  dread  shall  fall  upon  them; 
by  the  greatness  of  thine  arm  they  shall  be  as  still  as  a  stone; 
till  thy  people  pass  over,  0  Lord,  till  the  people  pass  over,  which 
thou  hast  purchased.  Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and  plant  them 
in  the  mountain  of  thine  inheritance,  in  the  place,  0  Lord,  which 
thou  hast  made  for  thee  to  dwell  in,  in  the  Sanctuary,  0  Lord, 
which  thy  hands  have  established.  The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever 
and  ever.  For  the  horse  of  Pharaoh  went  in  with  his  chariots 
and  with  his  horsemen  into  the  sea,  and  the  Lord  brought  again 
the  waters  of  the  sea  upon  them;  but  the  children  of  Israel 
went  on  dry  land  in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

The  exact  date  of  the  birth  of  Geoffrey  Chaucer  is  un- 
known. On  the  authority  of  Thomas  Speght,  who  pub- 
lished an  edition  of  Chaucer's  works  in  1598,  his  birth  was 
set  originally  in  the  year  1328,  but  as  in  1386  he  was  des- 
cribed as  "forty  years  and  upward,"  the  j^ear  1340  or 
thereabouts  has  been  accepted  as  the  more  probable  date. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  London  vintner  in  favor  at  Court,  and 
in  1357  was  a  page  in  the  household  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  41 

second  son  of  Edward  III.  Of  his  early  life  nothing  is 
known.  Dr.  Collier^"  states  that  a  reference  to  Chaucer  in 
one  of  the  poet 's  earliest  works  has  caused  it  to  be  inferred 
that  he  was  educated  at  Cambridge.  Warton  and  others 
have  claimed  him  as  an  Oxford  man.  The  point  has  not 
been  settled.  In  his  writing  Chaucer  shows  as  intimate  a 
knov/ledge  of  Cambridge  as  he  does  of  Oxford.  Any  one 
who  knows  both  places  needs  but  to  read  his  ' '  Reeves  Tale ' ' 
and  his ' '  Milleres  Tale ' '  to  see  this.  Perhaps  the  knowledge 
may  have  been  obtained  by  sojourns  in  the  towns  or  visits 
to  the  universities.  However  this  may  be,  his  education 
was  well  cared  for,  as  Nicolas^^  describes  him  as  possessing 
acquaintance  "with  the  classics,  with  divinity,  with  astron- 
omy, with  so  much  as  was  then  known  of  chemistry,  and 
indeed  with  every  other  branch  of  the  scholastic  learning 
of  the  age." 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1359  Chaucer  accompanied  the 
King's  troops  on  an  expedition  to  France.  The  English 
army  consisted  of  100,000  men ;  provisions  were  scarce ;  the 
weather  execrable  and  no  actual  fighting  occurred,  never- 
theless, Chaucer,  who  had  accompanied  a  foraging  party 
which  left  the  main  body  of  the  troops  at  Retiers,  near 
Rennes  in  Brittany,  was  taken  prisoner  and  detained  until 
ransomed.  Toward  the  sum  required  for  his  release  the 
King  contributed  sixteen  pounds.  Following  this  event 
Chaucer  returned  to  England  and  entered  the  King's 
household  as  a  yoeman  of  the  King's  chamber,  where  he 
had  "to  make  beds,  bear  torches,  set  boards,  and  apparel  all 
chambers.""  In  1369  he  again  went  to  France,  being  abroad 
"on  the  King's  service  from  June  to  September,"  1370. 

"  "History  of  English  Literature,"  p.  53. 
*•  "Life  of  Chaucer"    (Aldine  edition). 
"J.  W.  Hales  in  "Diet.  Nat.  Biog."  b.v. 


42  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Having  learned  all  that  France  could  teach  him,  Chaucer 
turned  toward  Italy,  whither  the  public  service  was  to  take 
him,  and  in  1372  made  an  official  visit  to  Genoa.  He  under- 
took a  second  journey  thitherward,  and  on  this  occasion 
visited  also  Florence  and  Padua,  returning  to  England  in 
November,  1373.  As  Petrarch  was  living  at  Padua,  and 
Boccaccio  in  Florence,  at  this  time,  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
Chaucer  met  them  both ;  evidences  of  such  contact,  direct  or 
indirect,  are  given  in  his  ' '  Canterbury  Tales, ' '  the  master- 
piece which  in  the  sunset  of  his  life  he  produced  in  retire- 
ment from  the  activities  of  public  service  at  his  quiet 
country  home  in  "Woodstock,  This  masterpiece  was  begun 
probably  about  1387,  for  by  1393  most  of  the  "Tales,"  as 
we  have  them,  were  written.    He  died  October  25,  1400. 

Of  Chaucer's  earlier  works  some  are  either  partly,  or 
altogether,  translations  from  the  Latin,  French,  or  Italian. 
He  described  the  course  of  true  love  in  a  glowing  allegory — 
* '  The  Romaunt  of  the  Rose, ' '  and  in  another,  and  still  more 
beautiful  one,  ' '  The  Flour  and  the  Lef e, ' '  pointed  out  that 
''They  which  honour  the  flour,  a  thing  fading  with  every 
blast,  are  such  as  looke  after  beautie  and  worldly  pleasure : 
But  they  that  honour  the  life  .  .  .  are  they  which  follow 
vertue  and  divining  qualities  without  regard  of  worldly 
respects. ' ' 

To  provide  the  reader  with  a  specimen  of  Chaucerian 
English,  a  part  of  the  "Persones  (Parson's)  Tale,"  from 
the  Canterbury  Tales,  written  about  1393,  is  given  below. 
The  section  is  entitled  "De  Superbia"  (Of  Pride). 

Now  ben  there  tuo  maners  of  pride;  that  oon'^''  is  heighnes 
withinne  the  hert  of  a  man    and  that  other  is  withoute.     Of 

**  The  one  of  them. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  43 

which  sothly  these  forsayde  thinges,  and  mo^^  than  I  have 
said,  aperteynen  to  pride  that  is  in  the  hert  of  a  man ;  and  that 
other  spices-^  of  pride  ben  withoute;  but  natheles,  that  oon  of 
thise  spices  of  pride  is  signe  of  that  other,  right  as  the  gay 
levesselle-^  at  the  tavern  is  signe  of  wyn  that  is  in  the  celer. 
And  this  is  in  many  thinges ;  as  in  speehe  and  contienaunce,  and 
in  outrageous  aiTay  of  clothing.  For  eertis,  if  ther  hadde  be 
no  oynne  in  clothing,  Crist  wolde  not  so  soone  have  notid  and 
spoke  of  the  clothing  of  thilke  riehe  man  in  the  gospel.  And 
seint  Gregorie  saith,  that  precious  clothing  is  coupable  for  derthe 
of  it,  and  for  his  schortnes,  and  for  his  straungenes  and  dis- 
gisines,  and  for  the  superfiuite,  or  for  the  inordinat  skantnes 
of  it;  alias!  many  man  may  sen  as  in  oure  dayes,  the  synful 
eostlewe  array  of  clothing,  and  namely^^  in  to  moche  supei-fluite, 
or  elles  in  to  disordinat  skantnes. 

As  to  the  firste  synne  in  superfiuite  of  clothing,  which  that 
makid  is  so  dere,  to  harm  of  the  poeple,  not  oonly  the  cost  of 
embrowdyng,^^  the  disguising,  endentyng  or  barryng,  ounding, 
paljmg^^  or  bendyng,^"  and  semblable  wast  of  cloth  in  vanite; 
and  ther  is  also  eostlewe  furring  in  here  gownes,  so  mochil 
pounsyng^^  of  chiseles  to  make  holes,  so  moche  daggyng^^  of 
scheris,  for  with  the  superfiuite  in  lengthe  of  the  forsaide 
gownes,  traylinge  in  the  donge  and  in  the  myre,  on  hors  and 
eek  on  foote,  as  wel  of  man  as  of  womman,  that  al  thilke 
traylyng  is  verraily  (as  in  effect)  wasted,  consumed,  thredbare, 
and  rotyn  with  donge,  rather  than  it  is  geven  to  the  pore, 
to  gret  damage  of  the  forsaide  pore  folk,  and  that  in  sondry 
wise;  this  is  to  sain,  the  more  that  cloth  is  wastid,  the  more 
most  it  coste  to  the  poeple  for  the  scarsenes;  and  forthermore, 
if  it  so  be  that  thay  wolde  give  suche  pounsed  and  daggid 
clothing  to  the  pore  folk,  it  is  not  convenient  to  were  to  the 
pore  folk,  ne  suffisaunt  to  beete^^  here  necessite,  to  kepe  hem 
fro  the  desperance  of  the  firmament. 

**  More.  "  Species. 

**  A  bower,    an  arbor,   a   summer-house   or  penthouse;    also,   a  bough  used 
as  a  sign  at  a  tavern,  -whence  the  proverb  "Good  wine  needs  no  bush." 
"Especially.  *•  Imitating  waves.        "Punching.  '^Supply. 

**  Embroidering.  *"  Imitating  pales.  "  Slitting. 


44  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  few  lines  that  follow  are  quoted  from  *  *  The  Romaunt 
of  the  Rose,"  and  express  the  moral  and  chivalrous  senti- 
ments of  this  great  English  poet. 

To  villaine  speech  in  no  degree 
Let  never  thy  lippe  unbounden  bee: 
For  I  nought  hold  him,  in  good  faith, 
Curteis,  that  foule  wordes  saith; 
And  all  women  serve  and  preise. 
And  to  thy  power  hir  honour  reise, 
And  if  that  any  mis-sayere 
Despise  women,  that  thou  maist  here. 
Blame  him,  and  bid  him  hold  him  still. 

The  foreign  element  in  Chaucer 's  work  is  evidence  of  the 
influence  upon  him  of  the  speech  of  the  people  he  visited. 
Let  any  one  consult  a  glossary  to  his  works  and  he  will 
be  amazed  at  the  large  number  of  French  and  Latin  words 
recorded  there — amazed  because  "by  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.  French  was  so  little  known  in  England,  even  in  the 
families  of  the  great,  that  about  1350  'John  Cornwal,  a 
maystere  of  gramere,  chaunged  ]?e  lore  in  gramere  scole 
and  construccion  of  Freynsch  into  Englysch,'  "^*  After 
the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  language  spoken  in 
England  was  that  of  the  Midlands;  then,  the  southern 
dialect  fell  to  the  level  of  a  peasant's  jargon. 

John  Gower,  whom  his  friend  Chaucer  dubbed,  perhaps 
infelicitously,  "0  moral  Gower,  "^^  was  of  Kentish  birth. 
Of  his  personal  history  little  is  known.  The  date  of  his 
birth  has  been  set  at  about  1325.  His  death  is  stated  to 
have  taken  place  in  1408.     Gower  has  been  described  as 

**  Sir  James  A.  H.  Murray  in   "Encyc.   Brit.,"  s.v.  "English  Language." 
*"  O   moral    Gower  I    this   booke    I    direct 

To  thee,  and  to  the  philosophical  Strood, 
To  vouchesauf  there  need  is  to  correct 
Of  your  benignities  and  zeales  good. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  45 

one  of  the  best  of  our  minor  poets.  He  came  of  a  wealthy 
family,  the  owners  of  several  country  houses,  and  "seems 
to  have  studied  at  Merton  College,  Oxford. '  '^^  The  position 
he  holds  in  English  literature  is  due  to  his  "Confessio 
Amantis,"  which  is  a  collection  of  reflections  on  matters 
physical,  metaphysical,  and  moral,  woven  in  with  stories 
derived  from  ' '  the  common  repertories  of  the  Middle  Ages. ' ' 
His  moral  reflections  have  been  declared  confessedly  wise, 
impressive,  and  almost  sublime.  This  poem  which  was 
written  almost  in  English,  secured  for  him  a  permanent 
place  among  British  poets. 

The  extract  from  "Confessio  Amantis"  given  below 
serves  a  double  purpose:  to  show  the  quality  of  Gower's 
verse,  and  his  unbroken  friendship  with  Chaucer,  to  whom 
he  paid  a  graceful  compliment  by  putting  into  the  mouth 
of  Venus  the  following  words: 

And  greet  well  Chaucer  when  ye  meet, 
As  my  disciple  and  my  poete; 
For  in  the  floures  of  his  youth, 
In  sondry  wise,  as  he  well  couth, 
Of  ditties  and  of  songes  glade, 
The  which  he  for  my  sake  made, 
The  land  fulfilled  is  over  all; 
"Whereof  to  him  in  special. 
Above  all  other,  I  am  most  hold: 
Forthy  now  in  his  dayes  old 
Thou  shalle  him  tell  this  message, 
That  he  upon  his  latter  age, 
To  set  an  end  of  all  his  werk. 
As  he  which  is  mine  owne  clerk, 
Do  make  his  Testament  of  Love, 
As  thou  hast  done  thy  shrift  above, 
So  that  my  court  it  may  record. 

**  Collier  loe.  cit.  p.  61. 


46  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Gower  wrote  four  noted  works.  The  first  was  ' '  Balades 
and  other  Poems,"  written  in  French;  the  second,  ''Specu- 
lum Meditantis, ' '  which  was  written  in  French  and  treated 
of  the  duties  of  conjugal  life.  The  third,  "Vox  Clamantis," 
written  in  Latin,  recounted  the  story  of  the  rebellion  of 
the  Commons  in  Richard  II. 's  time.  This  work  is  believed 
to  have  been  destroyed.  To  the  fourth,  "Confessio  Aman- 
tis, ' '  reference  has  already  been  made.  In  1399  Gower  was 
struck  with  blindness  and  suffered  from  this  affliction  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  at  Southwark,  near  London. 

In  the  Manuscript  Section  of  the  British  Museum, 
London,  is  a  collection  known  as  the  Arundel  MSS.,  number 
fifty-seven  of  which  is  written  in  the  Kentish  dialect  of 
1340.  Folio  eighty-two  of  this  MS.  contains  the  Lord's 
Prayer  as  written  at  that  time : 

"Pater  Noster. — Vader  oure  thet  art  ine  heiienes  y  lialzed  by 
thi  name,  cominde  thi  riche,  y  worthe  thi  wil  ase  in  heuene  ine 
erthe,  bread  oure  eche  dayes  yef  ous  to  day,  and  nor  let  ous 
oure  yeldinges  ase  and  we  norleteth  oure  yelderes,  and  ne  ous 
led  nazt  in  to  unondinge,  ac  vri  ous  uram  queade.     zo  by  hit." 

To  James  I.  of  Scotland,  bom  in  1394  and  detained  many 
years  as^  a  state  prisoner  in  England,  we  owe  the  famous 
"King's  Quhair"  (quire  or  book).  It  is  a  poem  of  about 
two  hundred  stanzas,  each  of  seven  lines,  which  relates 
many  of  the  events  of  the  King's  life.  For  nineteen  years 
he  lived  in  England,  chiefly  at  Windsor  and  Nottingham, 
and  came  under  the  influence  of  Chaucer's  and  Gower 's 
verse,  but  the  song  he  sang  in  "The  King's  Quhair"  was 
the  inspired  song  of  the  lover. 

One  day  while  looking  out  of  a  window  in  the  Round 
Tower  he  saw  walking  in  a  garden  below  the  beautiful  Joan 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  47 

Beaufort,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  and  this 
vision  awakened  the  poetical  passion  within  him.  James 
wrote  also  * '  Christis  Kirk  on  the  Grene, ' '  in  Aberdeenshire 
dialect,  and  "Peblis  to  the  Play"  in  that  of  Tweedale. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  these  helped  for  a  time  to  check 
the  then  fast-disappearing  northern  English  dialect  from 
the  literature  of  England. 

The  following  verses  from  "The  King's  Quhair,"  written 
about  1420,  during  James's  detention  in  England,  serve  to 
illustrate  the  character  of  English  early  in  the  fifteenth 
century. 

Where  as  in  ward  full  oft  I  would  bewail 
My  deadly  life,  full  of  pain  and  penance, 

Saying  right  thus.  What  have  I  guilt  to  fail^'^ 
My  freedom  in  this  world  and  my  pleasance? 
Sen^^  every  wight  has  thereof  suffisance 

That  I  behold,  and  I  a  creature 

Put  from  all  this,  hard  is  mine  aventure.^'^ 

The  bird,  the  beast,  the  fish  eke  in  the  sea, 
They  live  in  freedom  everich  in  his  kind. 

And  I  a  man,  and  lacketh  liberty ! 

What  shall  I  sayn,  what  reason  may  I  find. 
That  fortune  should  do  so?     Thus  in  my  mind 

My  folk  I  would  argue,^^  but  all  for  nought; 

Was  none  that  might  that  on  my  paines  wrought.^^ 

Among  other  writers  of  this  period  whose  work  serves 
to  show  the  growth  and  development  of  the  English  tongue 
are  Langland  and  Barbour. 

William  (sometimes  styled  Robert)  Langland,  who  was 
born  about  1330,  died  1400,  was  the  author  of  '^The  Vision 

*^  Of  what    have  I  been  guilty  so  that  I  should  lack? 

»8  Since.  2»  Fate. 

■*•  Read  in  "with"  to  precede  "my  folk." 

"There  was  none  to  work  on    {i.e.,  relieve)   my  pains. 


48 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


of  Piers  Plowman,"  an  allegorical  poem  whose  theme  is 
similar  to  that  of  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim's  Progress."  For  this 
reason  some  writers  claim  that  it  was  he  who  struck  the  first 
telling  blow  in  the  fight  for  the  Reformation  in  England. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  he  never  tired  of  un- 
masking the  ignorant  and  vicious  clergy  of  his  time. 

The  following  lines  from  ' '  The  Vision  of  Piers  Plowman, ' ' 
written  about  1362,  show  the  alliterative  character  of  Lang- 
land's  verse  and  the  English  of  his  day: 


In  a  summer  season, 

When  soft  was  the  sun, 
I  shoop  me  into  shrowds*^ 

As  I  a  sheep*^  were ; 
In  habit  as  an  hermit 

Unholy  of  werkes, 
"Went  wide  in  this  world 

Wonders  to  hear; 
Ac**  on  a  May  morwening 

On  Malvern  hills 
Me  befel  a  ferly,*^ 

Of  fairy  me  thought. 
I  was  weary  for-wandered/^ 

And  went  me  to  rest 
Under  a  brood"  bank, 

By  a  burn's*^  side; 


And  as  I  lay  and  leaned. 

And  looked  on  the  waters, 
I  slombered  into  a  sleeping, 

It  swayed  so  mury*^ 
Then  gan  I  meten^ 

A  marvellous  sweven,^^ 
That  I  was  in  a  wilderness, 

Wist  I  never  where; 
And,  as  I  beheld  into  the  east 

On  high  to  the  sun, 
I  seigh^^  a  tower  on  a  toft^^ 

Frieliehe  ymaked,^ 
A  deep  dale  beneath, 

A  donjon  therein. 
With  deep  ditches  and  darke, 

And  dreadful  of  sight.  .  .  . 


John  Barbour,  born  about  1316  at  Aberdeen,  died  1395, 
was  author  of  a  great  epic  poem  entitled  "The  Bruce,"  a 
narrative  based  upon  historical  facts,  which  in  style  differs 


**  I  put  me  into  clothes. 

«  Shepherd 

"And. 

*"  Wonder. 

*•  With  wandering. 

"  Broad. 

*' Bourne    (stream). 


*'  Sounded  so  pleasant. 

M  Meet. 

"  Dream. 

K  Saw. 

"  Hill. 

"Well  made    (built). 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  49 

from  the  English  of  Chaucer  only  in  the  broader  vowel 
sounds  of  the  Scottish  epic. 

The  passage  cited  below,  describing  the  condition  of 
Scotland  under  Edward  I.  of  England,  illustrates  the  vowel 
peculiarities  referred  to  strikingly.  It  occurs  in  the  earlier 
part  of  "The  Bruce,"  which  was  written  probably  about 
13V6. 

Ah!  Freedom  is  a  noble  thing! 
Freedom  mays'^  man  to  have  liking;  ^^ 
Freedom  all  solace  to  man  gives: 
He  lives  at  ease  that  freely  lives ! 
A  noble  heart  may  have  nane  ease, 
Ne  elles  nought  that  may  him  please 
Giff  freedom  failye:  for  free  liking 
Is  yarnit^'^  ower^^  all  other  thing. 
Na  he  that  aye  has  livit  free 
May  nought  knaw  well  the  property,'^ 
The  anger,  na  the  wretched  doom, 
That  is  couplit^  to  foul  thirldoom.'^^ 
But  gif  he  had  assayit  it. 
Then  all  perquer®-  he  suld  it  wit ; 
And  suld  think  freedom  mair  to  prise 
Than  all  the  gold  in  warld  that  is. 

4.  The  Modern  Period:  The  Invention  of  Printing 

Before  treating  this  period  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the 
conditions  that  prevailed  shortly  before  its  dawn,  because 
it  began  with  the  introduction  of  printing  into  England. 
During  the  early  years  of  the  fifteenth  century  England 
was  at  war  with  France;  later,  civil  war  was  a  disturbing 

"Makes.  "The  state,  condition,  or  quality. 

•*  Pleasure.  •*  Coupled   (attached). 

"  Yearned  for.  ••  Thraldom. 

*^  Over    (more  than).  "Exactly. 


50  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

element  at  home.  Englishmen  were  occupied  in  bearing 
arms  for  the  King  abroad  and  for  his  rivals  at  home.  Under 
such  conditions  little  attention  was  given  to  the  language  or 
the  literature  of  the  people.  But  the  union  of  the  White 
Rose,  in  the  person  of  Elizabeth  of  York,  with  the  Red  Rose 
of  Lancaster,  in  the  person  of  Henry  VII.,  brought  the 
War  of  the  Roses  to  an  end  and  restored  peace  to  the  land. 
Then  followed  the  introduction  of  printing.  "At  the  very- 
epoch  when  the  greatness  of  Burgundy  was  most  swiftly 
ripening,"  wrote  John  Lothrop  Motley,"^  ''another  weapon 
was  secretly  forging,  more  potent  in  the  great  struggle  for 
freedom  than  any  which  the  wit  or  hand  of  man  has  ever 
devised  or  wielded.  When  Philip  the  Good,  in  the  full 
blaze  of  his  power,  and  flushed  with  the  triumphs  of  terri- 
torial aggrandizement,  was  instituting  at  Bruges  the  order 
of  the  Golden  Fleece,  to  the  Glory  of  God,  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  of  the  holy  Andrew,  patron  Saint  of  the 
Burgundian  family,  and  enrolling  the  names  of  the  kings 
and  princes  who  were  to  be  honored  with  its  symbols,  at 
that  very  moment  an  obscure  citizen  of  Haarlem,  one 
Lorenz  Coster,''*  or  Lawrence  the  Sexton,  succeeded  in 
printing  a  little  grammar  by  means  of  movable  types.  The 
invention  of  printing  was  accomplished,  but  it  was  not 
ushered  in  with  such  a  blaze  of  glory  as  heralded  the  con- 
temporaneous erection  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  The  humble 
setter  of  types  did  not  deem  emperors  and  princes  alone 
worthy  his  companionship.  His  invention  sent  no  thrill  of 
admiration  throughout  Christendom ;  and  yet  what  was  the 
good  Philip  of  Burgundy,  with  his  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Fleece   and  all  their  effulgent  trumpery,   in   the   eye  of 

«  "The  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  45. 
«*  Spelled  also  Kostcr. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  51 

humanity  and  civilization  compared  with  the  poor  sexton 
and  his  wooden  type  ? ' ' 

One  need  not  wonder  that  Coster's  discovery  sent  no 
thrill  of  admiration  throughout  Christendom,  for  Coster 
was  not  slow  to  realize  that  his  success  would  depend  upon 
the  length  of  time  he  could  keep  his  discovery  secret. 
Therefore,  he  guarded  it  jealously,  and  put  all  persons  who 
assisted  him  in  his  work  under  oath  not  to  reveal  any  of 
the  secrets  of  his  printery.  But  the  story  of  his  discovery 
has  yet  to  be  told,  and  although  considered  legendary  by 
some  writers — even  that  doyen  of  printers,  Dr.  De  Vinne, 
met  with  no  little  difficulty  in  disposing  of  the  story — it 
will  sei've  its  purpose  if  only  to  account  for  the  existence  of 
the  numerous  printed  volumes  which  are  attributed  to 
him.^5 

The  earliest  evidence  favoring  Coster's  right  to  be  con- 
sidered the  discoverer  of  printing  is  "The  Chronicle  of 
Cologne,"  a  German  book  published  at  Cologne  in  1499. 
This  work  was  printed  by  Ulrich  Zell  at  Mayenee.  The 
"Chronicle"  states  that  "Although  the  art,  as  now  prac- 
tised, was  discovered  at  Mayenee,  nevertheless  the  first  idea 
came  from  Holland,  and  the  'Donate,'  which  had  been  pre- 
viously printed  there.  Those  books  are  therefore  the  origin 
of  the  art. ' '  Laurentius,  Laurens  or  Lorenz  Coster,  the  dis- 
coverer of  movable  types,  was  a  man  of  means,  who  lived  in 
Haarlem,  Holland.  The  approximate  date  of  his  discovery 
was  1429 ;  the  origin  of  it  was  a  ramble  in  the  woods  near 
the  city  where  he  dwelt.  On  this  occasion  Coster  cut  some 
letters  out  of  the  bark  of  a  tree.    By  the  aid  of  these  letters 

"^  The  reador  intrreKtcd  in  purstiinj:  this  subjort  further  is  reforrod  to 
Humphrpy's  "History  of  thn  Art  of  Printing"  (London),  and  Ue  Vinne's 
"Invintion   of   Printing"    (New    York). 


52  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

he  obtained  an  impression  upon  paper,  but  the  impression 
showed  the  letters  in  reverse.  He  continued  cutting  until 
he  had  carved  several  lines  for  his  own  amusement  and 
liked  the  result  so  well  that  he  set  about  to  apply  it  in  a 
practical  way.  With  the  help  of  his  brother-in-law,  one 
Thomas  Pietrison,  he  made  a  thick,  adhesive  ink  which  he 
could  use  to  better  advantage,  and  with  it  was  able  to 
print  from  his  wooden  blocks.  At  the  outset  he  printed  on 
only  one  side  of  the  paper,  and  the  first  book  he  printed  in 
this  way  was  a  Dutch  work  named, '  *  Spiegal  enser  Behoude- 
nisse."  The  separate  leaves  of  this  book  were  pasted  to- 
gether so  that  blank  sides  might  not  be  seen.  Coster  died 
in  1439.  Among  his  assistants  was  a  workman  named  John 
Geinsfleisch  (or  Gutenberg,  the  Elder),  who  after  he  had 
learned  the  art  returned  to  Mayence,  his  native  city,  and 
imparted  the  secret  to  a  nephew — an  artist  of  Strassburg, 
named  John  Gutenberg.  Uncle  and  nephew  spent  much 
money  and  time  in  making  experiments,  in  which  they 
were  helped  by  a  capitalist  named  John  Fust,  who  advanced 
the  necessary  funds  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  work,  but 
who  required  that  all  the  tools  and  presses  of  the  new 
craft  should  be  pledged  as  security  for  his  Joans.  After 
two  years  of  assiduous  labor  both  the  types  and  the 
machinery  necessary  to  the  printing  of  a  large  work  were 
made.  Then  began  the  printing  of  the  Bible,  which  was 
not  completed  until  1455  or  1456.  Gutenberg,  while  ex- 
perimenting, found  time  to  print  several  other  works  before 
this,  and  among  them  were  the  "Donatus"  (1451),  the 
"Appeal  against  the  Turks"  (1454),  and  the  ** Letters  of 
Indulgence"  (1454-55).  To  Peter  Schoeffer,  another  of 
Gutenberg's  assistants,  is  due  the  invention  of  cast  metal 
types  which  made  the  economical  application  of  printing 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  53 

possible.  These  metal  types  were  made  after  Fust  had 
foreclosed  the  mortgage  that  he  held  against  Gutenberg, 
and  thus  secured  the  control  of  the  printing  establishment 
and  the  services  of  Schoeffer. 

For  the  reason  that  printing  helped  largely  to  establish 
the  forms  our  words  were  to  take,  the  literary  language 
which  it  produced,  since  it  had  attained  the  almost  inflec- 
tionless  condition  of  the  language  of  to-day,  became  known 
as  Modern  English.  This  language  is  commonly  divided 
into  two  periods,  the  Early  Modern  or  Tudor  English  which 
extends  from  Caxton  to  the  close  of  Shakespeare's  literary 
activity,  and  the  publication  of  the  King  James  Version 
of  the  Bible,  or  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years — 1477 
to  1611 — and  Modern  English,  from  1611  onward. 

The  influence  of  books  on  the  language  was  immeasurable. 
As  they  increased  in  number  and  spread  throughout  the 
land  the  study  of  the  people  became  the  art  of  reading. 
Printing  tended  to  establish  the  forms  of  the  written  word 
which,  while  suited  to  the  eye,  differed  in  sound  when 
pronounced  to  the  ear.  Confusion  of  spelling  arose  when 
persons  living  in  different  parts  of  the  country  endeavored 
to  express  the  sounds  familiar  to  their  ears  in  writing 
or  printing.  To  this  confusion — modified  somewhat  as  time 
passed  by  improvements  in  printing,  by  added  facilities  of 
communication  and  the  resulting  increase  of  contact  be- 
tween the  people — we  owe  the  anomalies  to  be  found  in 
our  spelling  to-day. 

Although  the  inflections  had  disappeared  no  system  to  re- 
place them  had  been  devised,  so  that  a  certain  looseness  in 
the  order  of  using  words  prevailed.  This  was  particularly 
so  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  then  the  language  was  the  sub- 
ject of  syntactical  license  which  would  not  be  countenanced 


54  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

to-day.  Dr.  E.  A.  Abbott,  who  in  his  **  Shakespearian  Gram- 
mar" made  a  valuable  contribution  to  Tudor  English, 
pointed  out  that  the  dropping  of  the  inflections  resulted  in 
the  use  of  words  in  any  grammatical  relation  as  long  as 
they  conveyed  the  idea  of  the  speaker.  "For  then,"  said 
he,  "clearness  was  preferred  to  grammatical  correctness 
and  brevity  both  to  correctness  and  clearness."  So  the 
practise  of  placing  words  without  any  regard  to  syntax, 
in  the  order  in  which  they  first  came  to  the  thought,  be- 
came common.  This  produced  a  forcible,  direct,  and  clear 
English  such  as  may  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Shake- 
speare and  Jonson. 

(B)    The  Early  Modern  or  Tudor  Period:  the  Mystery 
Plays  and  the  IMoralities 

The  list  of  writers  whose  work  exercised  influence  on  the 
language  during  the  Early  Modern  or  Tudor  Period  is  very 
large,  so  large  that  it  is  impossible  to  discuss  each  writer's 
achievements  at  length ;  therefore,  brief  biographical  notices 
of  only  a  selected  few  are  given  in  this  book. 

William  Caxton,  who  introduced  printing  into  England, 
was  born  probably  about  the  year  1423.  Some  writers,  as 
Oldys,"^  whom  Dr.  Collier  follows,®^  have  placed  his  birth 
as  early  as  1412,  but  as  the  records  of  the  Worshipful  Com- 
pany of  Mercers  show  that  he  was  apprenticed  to  one  Robert 
Large  in  1438,  he  would  have  been  twenty-six  years  old  at 
the  time  of  his  apprenticeship,  which  seems  unlikely.  For 
this  reason  the  approximate  date  1423,  set  by  his  biographer 
William  Blades,  which  would  have  made  Caxton  about  fif- 
teen years  old  when  apprenticed,  is  preferred.     He  was 

*"  Biographia  Britannica,"  s.v. 

"  "History  of  English   Literature,"  p.   72. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  55 

bom  in  the  "Weald  of  Kent,  a  region  which  formerly  ex- 
tended from  the  Strait  of  Dover  (in  Kent)  to  Beachy  Head 
(in  Sussex) .  Exactly  where,  within  the  limits  of  this  weald 
or  exposed  region,  is  not  known.  Caxton's  master,  Robert 
Large,  was  sheriff  of  London  in  1430,  and  elected  Lord 
Mavor  of  that  city  in  1439.  This  suggests  that  Caxton's 
parents  must  have  been  people  of  influence,  or  he  would 
not  have  been  able  to  secure  apprenticeship  to  one  of  such 
high  distinction.  Before  the  expiration  of  Caxton's  ap- 
prenticeship Robert  Large  died,  and  his  executors  decided 
to  send  Caxton  to  Bruges  to  complete  it.  His  parents, 
whatever  their  names  and  condition  may  have  been,  gave 
Caxton  some  education,  for  in  the  prologue  to  his  ' '  Charles 
the  Grete"  (1485),  he  says:  "I  am  bounden  to  pray  for 
my  fader  and  moder's  souls  that  in  my  youthe  sent  me  to 
schoole,  by  which  by  the  suffraunce  of  God  I  gete  my  living, 
I  hope  truly. ' ' 

While  in  Europe  he  was  appointed  to  negotiate  the 
renewal  of  the  then  existing  treaty  in  regard  to  wool  with 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  in  1465.  Although  he  failed  in  this, 
he  was  sent  out  by  the  Mercer's  Company  in  1468.  When 
Edward  IV.  was  driven  into  exile  Caxton  succeeded  in  find- 
ing favor  and  gaining  influence  at  Court.  In  1471  he 
entered  the  service  of  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  and  while 
in  her  employ  heard  of  the  discovery  of  printing.  As  to 
who  taught  Caxton  the  art  of  printing  there  is  some  un- 
certainty. Wynkyn  de  Worde,  who  was  one  of  Caxton's 
assistants,  claimed  that  Ulric  Zell,  of  Cologne,  taught  him, 
but  an  anonymous  writer  in  the  "Encyclopedia  Britan- 
nica"®*  says  "he  seems  rather  to  have  had  Colard  Mansion 
as  his  teacher."    The  exact  date  that  Caxton  brought  his 

"*  Caxton,  William,  s.v. 


56  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

press  to  England  and  set  it  up  in  "Westminster  is  uncertain, 
but  the  date  is  set  between  the  years  1471  and  1478.  Dr. 
Funk  places  the  date  of  the  printing  of"  The  Recuyell  of  the 
Historyes  of  Troye" — the  first  book  printed  in  England 
— at  about  1475.^"  Caxton  followed  this  up  with  the  ' '  Dictes 
and  Sayinges  of  the  Philosophers,  emprynted  by  me  William 
Caxton,  at  Westmestre,  the  yere  of  our  Lord  m.cccc.l.xxvij," 
But  Caxton  had  printed  English  books  before  this  at  Bruges, 
and  these  were  an  earlier  edition  of  "The  Recuyell  of  the 
Historyes  of  Troye,"  printed  in  1471,^"  and  "The  Game 
and  the  Play  of  Chesse,  fynysshid  the  last  day  of  marche 
the  yer  of  our  lord  god.  a.  thousand  foure  honderd  and 
Ixxiiii."  These  books,  says  Dr.  Thomas  MacKellar,"  were, 
however,  "printed  at  Bruges."  "At  Bruges,"  says  the 
* '  Dictionary  of  National  Biography, "  "  there  lived  a  skilful 
caligrapher  named  Colard  Mansion,  who  set  up  a  press  in 
that  city  for  the  first  time  about  1473.  Mr.  Blades  states 
that  Caxton  probably  supplied  Mansion  with  money  to 
carry  out  his  enterprise,  and  placed  himself  under  Man- 
sion's tuition  at  Bruges.  That  Caxton  and  Mansion  were 
acquainted  with  one  another  is  not  disputed.  But  Caxton 's 
explicit  mention  of  Cologne  as  the  place  in  which  he  finished 
his  translation  in  1471,  and  the  remark  of  Caxton 's  suc- 
cessor, Wynkyn  de  Worde,  that  Caxton  printed  a  Latin 
book,  'Bartholomaeus  de  Proprietatibus  Rerum,'  at  Cologne 
(W.  de  Worde,  Proheme  to  his  ed.  of  Bartholomseus,  n.d.), 
powerfully  support  the  conclusion  that  Caxton  was  asso- 
ciated with  Cologne  in  his  early  printing  operations. 
M.  J.  P.  A.  Madden  suggests  that  Caxton  and  Mansion  were 

*'  "Standard  Dictionary,"  s.v.  Printing. 
'"Collier  "at  Cologne  in  1471." 
"  "The  American  Printer,"  p.  16. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  57 

fellow  students  of  the  art  of  printing  at  Cologne  some 
time  between  1471  and  1474,  and  this  is  very  probable.  For 
the  rest,  the  absence  from  the  'Recuyell'  of  many  technical 
points  met  with  in  Cologne  books  of  the  time,  and  the 
presence  there  of  most,  though  not  all,  the  technical  points 
found  in  the  early  books  of  Mansion's  press,  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  Caxton,  having  learned  printing  at  Cologne, 
returned  to  Bruges  about  1474,  and  printed  the  'Recuyell' 
at  Mansion's  press  there."  Caxton  died  in  1491  or  1492. 
Of  the  art  of  printing,  the  invention  of  which  we  owe  to 
Germany,  it  has  recently  been  pointed  out^^  that  while  it 
made  way  rapidly  in  France,  its  progress  in  England  was 
very  slow ;  in  France  it  was  introduced  early  and  fostered 
and  developed  on  liberal  lines  by  men  of  learning.  Two 
professors  of  the  Sorbonne  brought  experts  from  Germany 
and  set  up  the  first  printing-press  in  Paris  in  1470.  From 
this  press  in  less  than  two  years  issued  twenty-two  volumes, 
among  them  works  of  Vergil  and  Cicero,  of  Plato  in  Latin, 
of  Terence,  Sallust,  and  Juvenal;  also  manuals  for  the 
schools  and  books  besides.  By  the  close  of  the  century 
eighty -five  presses  were  at  work  in  Paris  and  thirty-eight 
in  the  French  provinces.  In  nearly  all  cases  these  presses 
were  owned  and  conducted  by  scholars  and  men  of  letters. 
Throughout  the  sixteenth  century  in  France  the  art  of 
printing  was  very  learnedly  and  brilliantly  carried  on. 

Having  introduced  the  printer's  art  into  England, 
Caxton  was  not  slow  in  pursuing  it.  He  brought  what  was 
necessary  for  the  purpose  from  the  Continent  and  started 
a  press  in  Westminster  in  1478.  This  was  only  eight  years 
later  than  the  institution  in  Paris,  but  the  art  expanded 

'*  "English  Literary  Debt  to  France"  in   "The  Sun,"  New  York,   April  23, 
1911,  p.  2. 


58  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

very  slowly  in  England,  and  with  far  less  than  the  mag- 
nificence that  attended  it  in  France.  By  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  says  Sir  Sidney  Lee,"  only  three  or  four 
presses  had  been  set  up  in  London,  and  all  save  Caxton's 
were  the  ventures  of  half -educated  foreign  mechanics.  In 
Caxton's  day  a  German  printed  a  few  books  at  Oxford. 
He  was  no  more  than  a  lonely  and  fleeting  manifestation. 
The  Oxford  University  Press  can  not  trace  its  history 
further  back  than  1585.  At  Cambridge  a  wanderer  from 
Cologne  printed  nine  or  ten  books  in  1521  and  1522,  but 
there  was  no  permanent  press  before  1582.  In  London, 
after  Caxton's  initial  effort,  the  press  was  kept  going  in 
a  modest  manner  by  foreign  hands.  Germany  and  the 
Low  Countries  supplied  the  thin  ranks  of  the  London 
printers. 

Notwithstanding  that  he  had  set  up  his  establishment  in 
London,  Caxton  found  it  necessary  to  enlist  the  aid  of 
French  printers,  and  several  of  his  books  were  printed  in 
Paris.  It  may  have  been  due  to  this  that  Richard  Pynson, 
a  native  of  Rouen,  where  he  had  learned  ''the  trade," 
determined  to  move  to  England  and  establish  himself  there. 
To  Pynson  belongs  the  distinction  of  having  printed  the 
first  Latin  classic  in  England.  In  1497  he  printed  the 
plays  of  Terence.  Although  printing  had  been  pursued  as 
an  occupation  for  sixty-three  years,  when  the  Great  Bible 
was  ready  for  composition,  there  was  not  among  the  London 
printers  one  bold  enough  to  undertake  the  work,  which  had 
to  be  sent  to  Paris.  Subsequently,  however,  owing  to  the 
interference  of  the  French  Government,  the  presses  were 
removed  to  London  and  the  work  was  completed  there.    The 

"  "The  French  Renaissance  in  England :  an  Account  of  the  Literary 
Relations  of  England  and  France  in  the  XVIth  Century." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  59 

first  type  cast  in  England  was  cast  by  a  Frenchman  in 
the  year  1545. 

Between  the  years  1478  and  1491  Caxton  issued  ninety- 
six  books  from  the  Westminster  Press,  including  among 
others  the  works  of  Chaucer  and  Gower,  Sir  Thomas 
Malory's  "Morte  d 'Arthur,"  and  various  translations  of 
mora  or  less  classical  works  from  French,  Latin,  and  Dutch, 
together  with  a  number  of  smaller  books,  a  good  many  of 
which  are  religious.  His  industry  was  very  great,  and  he 
died  in  the  midst  of  his  work.  He  was  not  only  a  skilful 
master  printer  and  publisher  of  books,  but  to  some  extent 
a  man  of  letters — editor,  author,  translator — with  a  certain 
style  of  his  own  and  a  true  enthusiasm  for  literature.  His 
work  as  writer  and  translator  helped  to  fix  the  literary 
language  of  England  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Specimens 
of  his  printed  books  exist  in  various  public  and  private 
libraries.  The  British  Museum  possesses  eighty-three 
Caxton  volumes.^* 

The  need  for  going  somewhat  at  length  into  the  discovery 
of  printing  and  into  the  introduction  of  the  printers'  art 
to  England  must  be  self-evident  to  the  reader  who  stops 
to  consider  the  natural  relation  that  exists  between  our 
language  and  literature.  That  relation  was  brought  closer 
by  the  introduction  of  printing  and  by  the  dissemination  of 
books.  In  the  productions  of  Caxton 's  press  one  can  trace 
the  completion  of  the  transition  from  the  Middle  English 
Period  to  that  of  the  Modern  English  and  ''the  disappear- 
ance of  the  final  e,  and  of  most  of  the  syllabic  inflections 
of  Middle  English.""  Those  of  us  who  watch  with  interest 
the  spelling  reform  movements  of  our  day  have  some  idea 

^*  K.  M.  Warror,  the  "Catholic  Enrycloppdia,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  469,  s.v.  "Caxton." 
"J.  A.  H.  Murray  in  "Encyclopodia  Britannica." 


60  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

of  the  trials  that  beset  William  Caxton  during  this  period 
of  transition.  From  the  fact  that  the  earlier  productions 
of  his  press  were  in  Middle  English,  and  that  this  was 
discarded  in  the  later  works,  it  will  be  seen  that  almost 
from  the  beginning  the  printing-press  has  had  an  immense 
influence  on  the  forms  of  our  language. 

To  illustrate  the  confusion  that  existed  in  English  speech, 
as  much  as  to  show  Caxton 's  perplexities  in  his  own  words. 
Sir  James  Murray  reproduced  a  part  of  the  prologue  to 
Caxton 's  translation  of  Vergil's  ''Eneydos"  (1490),  and 
with  his  permission  this  is  reproduced  here : 

"I  doubted  that  it  sholde  not  please  some  gentylmen,  whiehe 
late  blamed  me,  sayeng,  y  in  my  translacyons  I  had  ouer  curyous 
termes,  whiehe  coud  not  be  vnderstande  of  comyn  peple,  and 
desired  me  to  vse  olde  and  homely  termes  in  my  translacyons. 
And  fayn  wolde  I  satysfy  euery  man;  and  so  to  doo,  toke  an 
olde  boke  and  redde  therin;  and  certaynly  the  engiysshe  was 
so  rude  and  brook  that  I  eoude  not  wele  vnderstande  it.  And 
also  my  lorde  abbot  of  Westmynster  ded  to  shewe  to  me  late 
certayn  euydences  wryton  in  olde  engiysshe  for  to  reduce  it  in 
to  our  engiysshe  now  vsid.  And  certaynly  it  was  wreton  in 
suehe  wyse  that  it  was  more  lyke  to  dutche  then  engiysshe;  I 
coude  not  reduce  ne  brynge  it  to  be  vnderstonden.  And  cer- 
taynly, our  langage  now  vsed  varyeth  ferre  from  that  which 
was  vsed  and  spoken  whan  I  was  borne.  For  we  englysshemen 
ben  vnder  the  domynacyon  of  the  mone,  whiehe  is  neuer 
stedfaste,  but  euer  wanerynge,  Avexynge  one  season,  and  waneth 
and  dycreaseth  another  season.  And  that  comyn  engiysshe 
that  is  spoken  in  one  shyre  varyeth  from  a  nother.  In  so 
much  that  in  my  days  happened  that  certayn  marchauntes  were 
in  a  shipe  in  tamyse,  for  to  haue  sayled  ouer  the  sea  into 
zelande,  and  for  lacke  of  winde  thei  taryed  atte  forlond,  and 
wente  to  lande  for  to  refreshe  them.  And  one  of  theym  named 
sheffelde,  a  mercer,  cam  in  to  an  hows  and  axed  for  mete,  and 
specyally  he  axyd  after  eggys,  And  the  goode  wyf  answerde, 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  61 

that  he  eoude  speke  no  frenshe.  And  the  marchaunt  was 
angry,  for  he  also  coude  speke  no  frenshe,  but  wolde  haue  haddo 
egges;  and  she  vnderstode  hym  not.  And  thenne  at  laste  a 
nother  sayd  that  he  wolde  haue  eyren:  then  the  good  wyf  sayd 
that  she  vnderstod  hym  well.  Loo!  what  sholde  a  man  in 
thyse  days  now  wryte,  egges  or  eyren?  certaynly,  it  is  harde 
to  playse  euery  man,  by  cause  of  dyuersite  and  ehaunge  of 
langage.  For  in  these  dayes,  euery  man  that  is  in  any  repu- 
tacyon  in  his  eountre  wyll  vtter  his  comyncacyon  and  maters 
in  suche  maners  &  termes  that  fewe  men  shall  vnderstonde 
thej^m.  And  som  honest  and  grete  clerkes  haue  ben  wyth  me, 
and  desired  me  to  wryte  the  moste  curyous  termes  that  I  eoude 
fynde.  And  thus  bytwene  playn,  rude,  and  curyous,  I  stande 
abasshed;  but  in  my  Judgemente,  the  comyn  termes  that  be 
dayli  vsed  ben  lyghter  to  be  vnderstonde  then  the  olde  and 
auncyent  englysshe." 

"Who  knows  but  that  the  simplified  spelling  movement 
now  afoot  may  not  prove  another  transition  period  for  the 
student  of  English  ? 

As  has  been  stated,  Caxton  printed  Sir  Thomas  Malory's 
"Morte  d 'Arthur."  It  is  a  prose  romance  which  was 
completed  in  the  ninth  year  of  Edward  IV. 's  reign 
(1470).  The  author  has  been  identified  by  Professor 
Kittridge  with  Sir  Thomas  Malory  of  Newbold  Revell  in 
Warwickshire,  England,  who  succeeded  to  the  family 
estates  in  1433  or  1434.  Caxton  described  him  as  ''a  ser- 
vant of  Jesus  both  day  and  night,"  which  has  led  to  the 
conjecture  that  he  may  have  been  a  priest,  especially  as 
"Sir"  was  a  title  accorded  to  priests.  Malory's  work  com- 
bines simplicity  and  virility  of  language  with  an  earnest- 
ness and  tenderness  of  expression  which  show  him  to  have 
been  a  master  of  his  art.  Several  editions  of  "IMorte 
d 'Arthur"  have  been  printed,  and  the  work  is  one  that 
has  been  recently  selected  for  study  as  an  English  classic  in 


62  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

American   schools.     The  following   extract  will  serve  to 
show  the  quality  of  Sir  Thomas  Malory's  English"*: 

"0  ye  myghty  and  pompous  lordes  shynynge  in  the  glory 
transitory  of  this  unstable  lyf,  as  in  regnynge  over  grete  realmes 
and  myghty  grete  countrees,  fortyfyed  with  stronge  castels 
and  toures  edifyed  with  many  a  ryche  cite;  ye  also  ye  fyers  and 
myghty  knyghtes  so  valyaunt  in  adventurous  dedes  of  armes, 
behokle,  beholde,  se  how  this  myghty  conquerour  kinge  Arthur, 
whome  in  his  humayne  lyfe  all  the  worlde  doubted^^;  ye  also, 
this  noble  queue  Guenever,  whiche  somtyme  sate  in  her  chayre 
adourned  with  golde,  perles,  and  precyous  stones,  now  lye  full 
lowe  in  obscure  fosse  or  pyt  covered  with  cloddes  of  erth  and 
claye.  Beholde  also  this  myghty  champyon  Syr  Launcelot,  pereles 
of  knyghthode,  and  se  now  how  he  lyeth  grovelynge  upon  the 
colde  moulde,  now  beynge  so  feble  and  faynt  that  somtyme  was 
so  terryble  how  and  in  what  maner  ought  ye  to  be  so  desyrous 
of  worldly  honoure  so  daungerous.  Therfore  me  thynketh  this 
present  boke  called  La  Mort  Darthur  is  ryght  necessary  often 
to  be  radde.  For  in  it  shall  ye  fynde  the  moost  gracyous, 
knyghtly,  and  vertuous  werre  of  y®  moost  noble  knyghtes  of 
the  world,  wherby  they  gate  praysyng  contynual.  Also  me 
semeth  by  y''  ofte  redyng  therof  ye  shall  gretely  desyre  to 
accustome  your  selfe  in  folowynge  of  those  gTacyous  knyghtly 
dedes,  that  is  to  saye,  to  drede  God,  and  to  love  ryghtwysnes,''^" 
faythfully  and  corag;y'ously  to  serve  your  soverayne  prynce. 
And  the  more  y*  God  hath  gyven  you  the  tryumphall  honoure, 
the  meker  ye  ought  to  be,  ever  ferynge  the  unstableness  of  this 
deceyvable  worlde. 

Sir  Thomas  More  was  born  in  London  in  1480,  and 
suffered  death  on  the  scaffold  for  refusing  to  take  the 
Oath  of  Supremacy,  by  which  Henry  VIII.  was  acknowl- 
edged "the  only  Supreme  Head  on  earth  of  the  Church 
of  England,"  and  for  opposing  the  King's  marriage  to 
Anne  Boleyn.     Mere's  reputation  as  a  writer  rests  on  two 

''^'^  W.   E.   Mead,    Selections   from   Sir  Thomas  Malory's   "Morte   D'Arthur," 
Athenaeum   Press   Series,    pp.    320-321. 
'"'  Dreaded.  ■"  Rir-lifcousness. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  63 

works:  (1)  "The  Life  and  Reign  of  Edward  V.,"  written 
in  1513,  which,  was  the  first  specimen  of  Classic  English 
prose,  and  the  earliest  work  in  English  worthy  the  name 
of  history.  (2 )  "  Utopia, ' '  the  romance  of  an  ideal  republic, 
written  in  flowing  Latin  and  published  in  about  the  year 
1514.  More  ranks  as  the  leading  writer  of  the  period  in 
which  he  lived.  *' Utopia,"  equivalent  to  "Nowhere," 
from  the  Greek  ou,  "not"  and  topos,  "place,"  is  an  ideal 
commonwealth  in  which  vice  does  not  flourish  and  where 
there  is  no  poverty  because  there  is  no  personal  property 
and  no  money.  Agriculture  is  the  chief  industry  and 
everybody  works.  The  sanitation  of  cities  is  carefully  pre- 
served. The  magistrates  are  elected.  Meals  are  enjoyed 
at  a  table  common  to  thirty  families.  Nobody  may  travel 
without  permission  from  the  magistrate.  War  is  deemed 
inglorious,  but  may  be  waged  in  self-defense.  Conquest  by 
guile  is  more  creditable  than  if  by  prowess.  Prisoners  of 
war  and  persons  guilty  of  offenses  against  morality  are 
made  slaves.  Religious  toleration,  with  slight  restriction, 
prevails.  The  book  is  a  keen  satire  of  social  and  economic 
conditions  that,  judged  by  his  other  writings  and  his  prac- 
tise, show  I\Iore's  political  philosophy  was  not  that  of 
Utopia.  In  the  book  itself  he  counsels  Hythlodaij  so  to 
order  "that  which  you  can  not  turn  to  good  that  it  be  not 
very  bad.  For  it  were  not  possible  for  all  things  to  be  well 
unless  all  men  were  good.  Which  I  think  will  not  be  yet 
this  good  many  years." 

In  1528  More  wrote  a  "Dialogue  Concerning  Heresies," 
from  which  the  following  extract  is  made.  It  consists  of 
the  fourteenth  chapter  of  that  work: 

Some  prieste,  to  brint!:  up  a  pilGTi'imape  in  his  parisho,  mnv 
devise  some  false  felowe  fayniner  himsolfe  to  come  soke  a  saint 


64  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

in  hys  ehyrch,  and  there  sodeinly  say,  that  he  hath  gotten  hys 
syght.  Than  shall  ye  have  the  belles  rong  for  a  miracle.  And 
the  fonde  folke  of  the  countrey  soon  made  foles.  Than  women 
commynge  thither  with  their  candels.  And  the  Person  byenge 
of  some  lame  begger  iii  or  iiii  payre  of  theyr  olde  crutches, 
with  xii  pennes  spent  in  men  and  women  of  wex,  thrust  thorowe 
divers  places,  some  with  arrowes,  and  some  wyth  rusty  knyves, 
wyll  make  his  offerynges  for  one  vij  yere  worth  twise  hys 
tythes. 

Thys  is,  quoth  I,  very  trouth  that  suche  thynges  may  be,  and 
sometime  so  be  in  dede.  As  I  remember  me  that  I  have  hard 
my  father  tell  of  a  begger,  that  in  Kyng  Henry  his  daies  the 
sixt  cam  with  his  wife  to  Saint  Albonis,  And  there  was  walk- 
ing about  the  towne  begging,  a  five  or  six  dayes  before  the 
kinges  commynge  thither,  saienge  that  he  was  borne  blinde, 
and  never  saw  in  hys  lyfeJ^  And  was  warned  in  hys  dreame, 
that  he  shoulde  come  out  of  Berv»'yke,  where  he  said  he  had  ever 
dwelled,  to  seke  Saynt  Albon,  and  that  he  had  ben  at  his 
shryne,  and  had  not  bene  holpen.  And  therefore  he  woulde 
go  seke  hym  at  some  other  place,  for  he  had  hard  some  say 
sins  he  came  that  Sainct  Albonys  body  shold  be  at  Coloi\.  and 
in  dede  such  a  contencion  hath  ther  ben.  But  of  troth,  as  I 
am  surely  informed,  he  lieth  here  at  Saint  Albonis,  saving  some 
reliques  of  him,  which  thei  there  shew  shrined.  But  to  tell 
you  forth,  whan  the  kyng  was  comen,  and  the  towne  full, 
sodaynlye  thys  blind  man,  at  Saint  Albonis  shryne  had  his  sight 
agayne,  and  a  myraele  solemply  rongen,  and  Te  Deum  songen, 
so  that  nothyng  was  talked  of  in  al  the  towne,  but  this  myraele. 
So  happened  it  than  that  duke  Humfry  of  Gloeester,  a  gTcat 
wyse  man  and  very  wel  lemed,  having  great  joy  to  se  such  a 
myraele,  called  the  pore  man  unto  hym.  And  first  shewing  him 
self  joyouse  of  Goddes  glory  so  shewed  in  the  getting  of  his 
sight,  and  exortinge  hym  to  mekenes,  and  to  none  ascribing 
of  any  part  the  worship  to  him  self  nor  to  be  proude  of  the 
peoples  prayse,  which  would  call  hym  a  good  and  godly  man 
thereby.  At  last  he  loked  well  upon  his  eyen,  and  asked 
whyther  he  could  never  se  nothing  at  al,  in  all  his  life  before. 

■78  Compare  Shakespeare's  "Henry  VI.,"  Part  II.,  act  II.,  sc.  1. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  65 

And  whan  as  well  his  wyfe  as  himself  affermed  fastely  no, 
than  he  loked  ad\asedly  upon  his  eien  again,  and  said,  I  be- 
leve  you  very  wel,  for  me  thinketh  that  ye  cannot  se  well  yet. 
Yea  syr,  quoth  he,  I  thanke  God  and  his  holy  marter,  I  can  se 
nowe  as  well  as  any  man.  Ye  can,  quoth  the  Duke;  what  colour 
is  my  gowne?  Then  anone  the  beggar  told  him.  What  colour, 
quoth  he,  is  this  man's  gowne?  He  told  him  also;  and  so 
fortne,  without  any  sticking,  he  told  him  the  names  of  al  the 
colours  that  coulde  bee  shewed  him.  And  whan  my  lord  saw 
that,  he  bad  him  "walke  faytoure,"  and  made  him  be  set  openly 
in  the  stockes.  For  though  he  could  have  sene  soudenly  by 
miracle  the  dyfference  betwene  divers  colours,  yet  coulde  he 
not  by  the  syght  so  sodenly  tel  the  names  of  all  these  colours 
but  if  he  had  known  them  before,  no  more  than  the  names  of 
all  the  men  that  he  should  sodenly  se.  Lo  therfore  I  say,  quod 
your  frende,  who  may  bee  sure  of  such  thynges  whan  such 
pageantes  be  played  before  all  the  towne? 

Another  writer  won  his  renown  as  a  translator  of  the 
New  Testament  into  English.  This  was  William  Tyndale, 
born,  according  to  Foxe,^^  on  the  Welsh  border  in  1484.^" 
Tyndale 's  work  (issued  in  1525  or  1526)  ranks  with  the 
best  of  the  English  classics,  and  his  style  is  acknowledged 
to  be  both  forceful  and  pure.  The  fame  of  his  Testament 
spread  rapidly,  but  the  dissemination  of  the  work  itself 
was  opposed  by  both  Church  and  State.  Heavy  fines  were 
imposed,  and  other  punishment  inflicted,  upon  those  who 
sold  and  distributed  the  book,  yet  all  efforts  were  power- 
less to  suppress  it  even  though  many  copies  were  seized 
and  publicly  burned.  A  second  edition  was  issued  in  1534. 
Tyndale  also  assisted  in  translating  from  the  Hebrew  the 
"Five  Books  of  Moses,"  printed  in  Hamburg  in  1530. 
This  work  was  supplemented  by  a  translation  into  English 
of  the   "Book   of   Jonah,"   in    1531.       Tyndale   suffered 

"  "Book  of  Martyrs." 

••Collier  "History  of  English  Literature,"  p.  84,  circa  1477. 


66  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

martyrdom  "for  heresy,"  dying  by  strangulation  in  1536. 
His  last  words  are  said  to  have  been,  "0  Lord,  open  the 
King  of  England's  eyes";  for,  while  Henry  VIII.  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  Papacy,  he  would  not  countenance 
any  Protestant  innovations  at  that  time. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Tyndale's  admirable 
translation  of  the  New  Testament,  written  probably  be- 
tween 1526  and  1536.  It  consists  of  the  parable  of  the 
Good  Samaritan,  from  Luke  x,  30-37. 

Jesus  answered  and  sayde :  A  certayne  man  descended  from 
Jerusalem  into  Jericho.  And  fell  into  the  hondes  off  theves 
whych  robbed  hym  off  his  rayment  and  wonded  hym  and 
departed  levynge  him  halfe  deed.  And  yt  chaunsed  that  there 
cam  a  certayne  pi'este  that  same  waye  and  saw  hym  and  passed 
by.  And  lyke  wyse  a  levite  when  he  was  come  neye  to  the 
place  went  and  loked  on  hym  and  passed  by.  Then  a  certayne 
Samaritane  as  he  iornyed  cam  neye  vnto  him  and  behelde  hym 
and  had  compassion  on  hym  and  cam  to  hymn  and  bounde  vppe 
hys  wondes  and  poured  in  wyne  and  oyle  and  layed  hjrm  on 
his  beaste  and  brought  hym  to  a  common  hostry,  and  drest  him. 
And  on  the  morowe  when  he  departed  he  toke  out  two  pence  and 
gave  them  to  the  host  and  said  unto  him,  Take  care  of  him  and 
whatsoever  thou  spendest  above  this  when  I  come  agayne  I  will 
recompence  the.  Which  nowe  of  these  thre  thynkest  thou  was 
neighbour  unto  him  that  fell  into  the  theves  hondes?  And  he 
answered:  He  that  shewed  mercy  on  hym.  Then  sayd  Jesus 
vnto  hym,  Goo  and  do  thou  lyke  wyse. 

A  third  writer  of  this  period,  also  a  churchman,  was 
Thomas  Cranmer,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  the  grace 
of  God  and  command  of  King  Henry  VIII.,  and  sometimes 
referred  to  as  the  Father  of  the  English  Church.  Notwith- 
standing his  pusillanimous  disposition,  he  became  one  of  the 
great  leaders  of  the  Reformation,  probably  its  greatest  writer. 
Between  the  years  1540  and  1543  Cranmer  headed  a  com- 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  67 

mission  engaged  in  revising  the  "Bishop's  Book,"  or  "In- 
stitution of  a  Christian  Man,"  and  in  preparing  the 
"Necessary  Erudition,"  known  also  as  the  "King's  Book." 
This  work  and  the  translation  of  the  Litany  into  English 
in  1543,  opened  the  way  for  the  greater  task  which  he 
was  to  achieve  in  the  following  reign.  To  Cranmer's  efforts 
the  English  Reformation  owes  three  great  works — the 
"Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  "Twelve  Homilies,"  or  ser- 
mons written  under  Cranmer's  guidance  as  aids  to  such 
of  the  clergy  as  were  not  able  to  write  their  own;  and 
Cranmer's  Bible,  sometimes  called  the  Great  Bible  on 
account  of  its  size.  Ranking  next  after  the  Bible,  the 
"Book  of  Common  Prayer"  contains  many  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  pure  English,  the  like  of  which  it  would  be  difficult 
to  match  in  the  entire  range  of  English  literature.  The 
use  of  this  work  in  Divine  service  in  all  English  churches 
was  ordered  by  act  of  Parliament  in  1548. 

Cranmer's  Bible,  which  was  issued  in  1540,  seems  to  have 
been  based  on  Tyndale's  version.  In  its  production 
Cranmer  had  the  assistance  of  Miles  Coverdale,  Bishop  of 
Exeter.    Born  in  1489,  Cranmer  died  at  the  stake  in  1556. 

Wliatever  good  the  Reformation  wrought  in  England,  it 
was  at  heavy  cost.  Stores  of  information  perished  with 
the  destruction  of  the  religious  houses  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII.  He  who  "neither  spared  man  in  his  rage  nor  woman 
in  his  lust,"  spared  not  the  literary  collections  in  the 
libraries  of  the  church.  For  though  it  appears  that  Henry 
directed  a  commission  to  Leland,  the  antiquary,  to  search 
for  and  preserve  such  works  belonging  to  the  dissolved 
monasteries  and  colleges  as  might  rescue  remarkable  Eng- 
lish events  and  occurrences  from  oblivion,  and  though  Le- 
land acquainted  Henry  that  he  had  "conserved  many  good 


68  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

authors  the  which  otherwise  had  bene  lyke  to  have  pery- 
shed,  to  no  smal  incommodite  of  good  letters ;  of  the  which, ' ' 
he  tells  him,  ''part  remayne  in  the  most  magnificent 
lybraryes  of  your  royal  palaces ;  part  also  remayne  in  my 
custodie";  yet  he  expressly  recites,  that  one  of  his  pur- 
poses was  to  expel  "the  crafty  coloured  doctryne  of  a  rowt 
of  Romayne  bysshopps";  which  too  plainly  indicates  that 
he  ''conserved"  but  little  concerning  ancient  customs. 
Strype,  who  praises  Henry's  commission  to  Leland,  after- 
ward breaks  out,  saying,  "But  great  pity  it  was,  and  a 
most  irreparable  loss,  that  notwithstanding  this  provision, 
most  of  the  ancient  MS.  histories  and  writings  of  learned 
British  and  Saxon  authors  were  lost.  Libraries  were  sold 
by  mercenary  men  for  anything  they  could  get,  in  that 
confusion  and  devastation  of  religious  houses.  Bale,  the 
antiquary,  makes  mention  of  a  merchant  that  bought  two 
noble  libraries  about  these  times  for  forty  shillings;  the 
books  whereof  served  him  for  no  other  use  but  for  waste 
paper;  and  that  he  had  been  ten  years  consuming  them, 
and  yet  there  remained  still  store  enough  for  as  many 
years  more.  Vast  quantities  and  numbers  of  these  books, 
banished  with  the  monks  and  friars  from  their  monasteries, 
were  conveyed  away  and  carried  beyond  seas  to  book- 
sellers there,  by  whole  ship  ladings ;  and  a  great  many  more 
were  used  in  shops  and  kitchens."  It  is  not  surprizing, 
then,  that  so  little  remains  from  those  immense  collections ; 
or  rather  it  is  wonderful  that  so  much  should  have  escaped 
the  general  devastation.^^  This  ruthless  deed  was  un- 
doubtedly inspired  by  Henry  VIII. 's  violent  antagonism 
to  a  Papacy  that  had  strenuously  opposed  his  lustful 
appetites. 

81  William  Hone,  "Ancient  Mysteries,"  pp.  viii  and  ix,  London,  1823. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  69 

To  Henry  Howard,  Earl  of  Surrey,  the  fourth  of  the 
writers  of  this  period,  we  must  look  to  find  the  earliest 
writer  of  blank  verse  in  English,  The  chief  characteristics 
of  Howard's  work  were  elegance  and  refinement.  He 
translated  into  English  blank  verse  the  second  and  fourth 
books  of  Vergil's  "-^neid,"  and  wrote  the  first  sonnets*" 
ever  written  in  English.  Howard  was  tried  for  treason 
upon  a  slight  pretext  and  beheaded  in  1547. 

The  few  lines  given  below  are  selected  from  his  trans- 
lation of  the  fourth  book  of  the  *'^neid"  first  published 
in  1557 — ten  years  after  his  execution. 

But  now  the  wounded  qiiene  with  heavie  care 
Throwgh  out  the  values  doth  nourishe  ay  the  plage, 
Surprised  with  blind  flame,  and  to  her  minde 
Gan  to  resort  the  prowes  of  the  man 
And  honor  of  his  race,  whiles  on  her  brest 
Imprinted  stake  his  wordes  and  forme  of  face, 
Ne  to  her  lymmes  care  graunteth  quiet  rest. 
The  next  morowe  with  Phoebus  lampe  the  erthe 
Alightned  clere,  and  eke  the  dawninge  daye 
The  shadowe  danke  gan  from  the  pole  remove. 

The  following,  in  modernized  spelling,  is  Howard's 
"Sonnet  to  the  Fair  Geraldine, "^^ 

Give  place,  ye  lovers,  here  before 

That  spent  your  boasts  and  brags  in  vain! 
My  lady's  beauty  passeth  more 

The  best  of  yours,  I  dare  Avell  sayn, 
Than  doth  the  sun  the  candle-light, 
Or  brightest  day  the  darkest  night, 

•*  Sec  chnpter  v,  page  200,  of  this  hook. 

^  "Works  of  Henry  Howard,  Earl  of  Surrey,  etc.,"  ed.  by  Nott, — Vol.  I, 
p.  4,   London,    1815. 


70  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

And  thereto  hath  a  troth  as  just 

As  had  Penelope  the  fair; 
For  what  she  saith  ye  may  it  trust, 
As  it  by  writing  sealed  were: 
And  virtues  hath  she  many  mo 
Than  I  with  pen  have  skill  to  show. 

I  could  rehearse,  if  that  I  would, 

The  whole  effect  of  Nature's  plaint. 
When  she  had  lost  the  perfit  mould, 
The  like  to  whom  she  could  not  paint: 
With  wringing  hands  how  she  did  cry. 
And  what  she  said,  I  know  it,  I. 

I  know  she  swore  with  raging  mind. 

Her  kingdom  only  set  apart. 
There  was  no  loss  by  law  of  kind 

That  could  have  gone  so  near  her  heart: 
And  this  was  chiefly  all  her  pain ; 
"She  could  not  make  the  like  again." 

Sith  Nature  thus  gave  her  the  praise, 

To  be  the  chiefest  work  she  wrought. 
In  faith,  methink,  some  better  ways 
On  your  behalf  might  well  be  sought. 
Than  to  compare,  as  ye  have  done. 
To  match  the  candle  with  the  sun. 

The  fifth  of  the  great  writers  of  the  Early  Modem 
Period — the  men  whose  work  no  less  than  their  individu- 
ality and  mode  of  death  did  much  to  spread  the  language 
abroad — was  Miles  Coverdale,  whom  the  "Encyclopedia 
Britannica"**  fittingly  describes  as  ''the  celebrated  trans- 
lator of  the  first  complete  English  Bible."  Coverdale 's 
Bible  was  published  with  a  dedication  to  Henry  VIII.  in 
1535.     From  this  time  forward  his  name  has  been  im- 

**  Article,  "Coverdale,"  b.v. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  71 

perishably  associated  with  the  history  of  the  English  Bible. 
Coverdale  was  born  in  Yorkshire  in  1487  or  1488,  and  died 
in  1569,  or  thereabouts,  for  his  remains  were  buried  in  the 
chancel  of  the  Church  of  St.  Bartholomew,  February  19, 
1568. 

Among  other  writers  of  this  period  who  achieved  dis- 
tinction may  be  named  John  Skelton,  a  popular  and  viva- 
cious, although  grotesque,  satirist  of  the  clergy — author  of 
"Colin  Clout,"  who  lived  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VII,  and 
Henry  VIII,  He  died  in  1529,  in  the  sanctuary  at  "West- 
minster Abbey,  where  he  had  taken  refuge  from  the  ven- 
geance of  his  one-time  patron  Cardinal  Wolsey,  whom  he 
attacked  bitterly  in  a  satire  of  1,300  lines,  a  few  of  which 
are  reprinted  below: 

But  this  mad  Amaiek  He  would  dry  up  the  streams 

Like  to  a  Mamelek,^^  Of  nine  kings'  reams,^^ 

He  regardeth  lords  Ail  rivers  and  wells, 

No  more  than  potshords;  All  water  that  swells; 

He  is  in  such  elation  For  with  us  he  so  mells*'' 

Of  his  exaltation,  That  within  England  dwells, 

And  the  supportation  I  wold  he  Avere  somewhere  else; 

Of  our  sovereign  lord,  For  else  by  and  by 

That,  God  to  record,^®  He  will  drink  us  so  dry, 

He  ruleth  all  at  will,  And  suck  us  so  nigh, 

"Without  reason   or  skill;  That  men  shall   scantly 

Howbeit  the  primordial  Have  penny  or  halfpenny. 

Of  his  wretched  original,  God  save  his  noble  grace, 

And  his  base  progeny,  And  grant  him  a  place 

And  his  greasy  genealogy,  Endless  to  dwell 

He  came  of  the  sank  royaP^  With  the  devil  of  hell ! 
That  was  cast  out  of  a  butcher's  stall. 

*•  Mameluke.  "^  Realms. 

"  Witness.  *°  Meddles. 

"Sang  royal   (blood  royal). 


72  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Another  satirist  of  this  period  was  John  Heywood, 
styled  the  ''Epigrammatist."  He  was  author  of  short, 
satirical,  anticlerical  "Interludes,"  and  flourished  in  Henry 
VIII. 's  time.  Indeed,  he  is  credited  with  having  enter- 
tained or  consoled  both  Henry  VIII.  and  Queen  Mary. 
Heywood's  plays  are,  however,  his  chief  productions.  He 
wrote  also  an  allegorical  burlesque  of  the  dispute  between 
the  new  and  the  old  Faith  entitled,  "A  Parable  of  the 
Spider  and  the  Fly,"  wherein  the  spider  represents  the 
Protestant  party  and  the  fly  the  Catholic.  In  his  "Des- 
cription of  England,"  Harrison  said  of  it:  "He  dealeth  so 
profoundly,  and  beyond  all  measure  of  skill,  that  neither 
he  himself  that  made  it,  neither  anyone  that  readeth  it, 
can  reach  unto  the  meaning  thereof." 

Nicholas  Udall  was  the  writer  of  the  earliest  extant 
English  comedy — "Ralph  Royster  Doyster,"  in  five  acts. 
Udall  was  born  in  Hampshire  in  1506,  and  educated  at 
Oxford  University.  He  died  in  1556  or  1557.  His  name 
has  been  variously  written  Uvedale,  Owdall,  Dowdall, 
Woodall,  and  Woddell.  He  was  a  zealous  Lutheran,  under 
whose  care  Erasmus's  "Paraphrase  of  the  New  Testament" 
was  produced  in  1548.  At  one  time  he  was  master  of  Eton 
College,  and  as  such  was  noted  for  his  severity.  In  1542 
he  was  dismissed  from  his  post  charged  with  robbery,  and 
among  the  Cottonian  MSS.  there  is  preserved  a  letter  in 
his  own  hand  which  practically  admits  his  guilt. 

In  character  and  plot  "Ralph  Royster  Doyster"  ranks 
as  true  comedy.  It  dates  from  about  1551,  but  was  not 
printed  until  1566.  The  language,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  extract  given  on  the  following  page,  is  somewhat  racy. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  73 

And  I  heard  our  Nourse  speake  of  an  husbande  to-day 

Ready  for  our  mistresse;  a  rich  man  and  a  gay: 

And  we  shall  go  in  our  French  hoodes  every  day; 

In  our  silke  cassocks  (I  warrant  you),  freshe  and  gay; 

In  our  tricke  ferdigews,  and  billiments  of  golde, 

Brave  in  our  sutes  of  chaunge,  seven  double  folde. 

Then  shall  ye  see  Tibet,  sires,  treade  the  mosse  so  trimme; 

Nay,  why  said  I  tread  ?  ye  shall  see  hir  glide  and  swimme, 

Not  lumperdee,  clumperdee,  like  our  spaniell  Rig. 

The  good  done  to  the  English  language  by  the  dissemi- 
nation of  the  sermons  of  John  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester 
(born  in  1459,  beheaded  June  22,  1535),  was  incalculable, 
and  the  example  that  he  set  is  one  by  which  the  language 
has  greatly  benefited  since.  In  like  manner  the  homely 
and  anecdotal  sermons  of  Hugh  Latimer,  Bishop  of 
Worcester  (born  about  1485;  burned  at  the  stake  at 
Oxford,  1555),  exercised  wide  influence  on  the  people. 
Although  credited  with  the  authorship  of  Assertio  septem 
sacrament  or  um,  for  which  Henry  VIII.  received  the  title 
"Defender  of  the  Faith,"  when  that  monarch  claimed 
spiritual  supremacy,  Fisher  refused  to  acknowledge  it, 
asserting  that  the  acceptance  of  such  a  principle  would 
cause  the  clergy  of  England  "to  be  hissed  out  of  the  society 
of  God's  Holy  Catholic  Church"  (Richard  Hall,  "Life  and 
Death  of  John  Fisher,"  p.  110).  This  practically  cost  him 
his  life.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  tried,  pronounced  guilty, 
and  sentenced  to  death  as  a  traitor.  Following  the  deaths 
of  Cranmer,  Fisher,  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Southwell,  their 
writings  were  scanned,  their  teachings  analyzed,  and  the 
stories  of  the  lives  and  sufferings  of  many  of  them  were 
told  in  imperishable  manner,  as  by  John  Foxe  (born  1516; 
died  1587),  in  his  "Book  of  Martyrs." 

The  citation  which  follows  is  a  part  of  Latimer's  third 


74  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

sermon,  preached  before  Edward  VI.,  at  Westminster, 
March  22, 1549.  It  is  derived,  with  all  its  original  spellings 
and  provincialisms,  from  Sir  Henry  Ellis's  "Pictorial 
History  of  England." 

Sjor,  what  forme  of  preaehinge  woulde  you  appoynt  me  to 
preache  before  a  kynge?  Wold  you  have  me  for  to  preache 
nothynge  as  coneernynge  a  kynge  in  the  kynges  sermon?  Have 
you  any  commission  to  apoynt  me  what  I  shall  preach  1  Besydes 
thys,  I  asked  hym  dyvers  other  questions,  and  he  wold  make 
no  answere  to  none  of  them  all.  He  had  nothyng  to  say.  Then 
I  turned  me  to  the  kyng,  and  submitted  my  selfe  to  his  Grace, 
and  sayed,  I  never  thoughte  my  selfe  worthy,  nor  I  never  sued  to 
be  a  preacher  before  youre  Grace,  but  I  was  called  to  it,  would 
be  wyllyng  (if  you  mislyke  me)  to  geve  place  to  my  betters. 
For  I  graunt  ther  be  a  great  many  more  worthy  of  the  roume 
than  I  am.  And,  if  it  be  your  Grace's  pleasure  so  to  allowe 
them  for  preachers,  I  could  be  content  to  here  ther  bokes  after 
theym.  But  if  your  Grace  allowe  me  for  a  preacher  I  would 
desyre  your  Grace  to  geve  me  leave  to  discharge  my  conscience. 
Geve  me  leve  to  frame  my  doctrine  aceordyng  to  my  audience. 
I  had  byne  a  very  dolt  to  have  preached  so  at  the  borders  of 
your  realm  as  I  preach  before  your  Grace.  And  I  thanke 
Almyghty  God,  whych  hath  alwayes  byne  remedy,  that  my 
sayinges  were  well  accepted  of  the  kynge,  for  like  a  gracious 
Lord  he  turned  into  a  nother  communicacyon.  It  is  even  as  the 
Scripture  sayeth  Cor  Regis  in  manu  Domini,  the  Lorde  dyrected 
the  kinges  hart.  Certaine  of  my  frendes  came  to  me  wyth 
teares  in  their  eyes,  and  told  me  they  loked  I  should  have  bene 
in  the  Tower  the  same  nyghte.  Thus  have  I  ever  more  bene 
burdened  wyth  the  werde  of  sedition.  I  have  offended  God 
grevouslye,  transgressyng  hys  law,  and  but  for  his  remedy  and 
his  mercye  I  wold  not  loke  to  be  saved.  As  for  sedicion,  for 
oughte  that  I  knowe,  me  thynkes  I  shoulde  not  nede  Christe,  if 
I  might  so  saye.  But  if  I  be  cleare  in  any  thynge,  I  am  clear 
in  thys.  So  farre  as  I  knowe  myne  owne  herte,  there  is  no  man 
further  from  sedicion  then  I,  whyche  I  have  declared  in  all  my 
doynges,  and  yet  it  hath  bene  ever  layed  to  me.    .    .    . 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  75 

The  first  edition  of  Foxe's  "Book  of  Martyrs"  appeared 
from  the  press  of  John  Day  in  1563.  Its  popularity  was 
"immediate  and  signal."  The  government  ordered  that  a 
copy  of  it  be  placed  in  each  parish  church  throughout  the 
land.  Its  influence  was  by  no  means  transient  in  char- 
acter. From  its  harrowing,  often  exaggerated,  records  of 
persecution  the  people  derived  much  information  of  what 
had  been  going  on  around  them  for  nearly  half  a  century.^^* 

Boger  Ascham  (pronounced  as'kam),  whose  fame  as  the 
author  of  "The  Scholemaster, "  which  was  not  published 
until  after  his  death,  is  greater  than  as  tutor  to  Princess 
Elizabeth,  was  born  at  Kirby  Wiske,  near  Northallerton,  in 
Yorkshire,  in  the  year  1515.  He  was  the  son  of  a  yeoman, 
and  was  adopted  by  Sir  Anthony  Wingfield,  who  had  him 
well  educated  and  then  sent  him  to  St.  John's  College  at 
Cambridge  University.  Taking  the  degree  of  master  of 
arts  in  1536  he  immediately  began  life  as  a  tutor,  and  in 
1544  occupied  the  office  of  University  Orator.  Ascham 's 
first  book  "  Toxophilus, "  was  published  in  1545.  It  was  a 
treatise  on  archery  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  a  phil- 
ologue  and  a  toxophilite,  in  which  the  author  emphasized 
the  necessity  of  open-air  pastimes  for  the  preservation  of  the 
health  of  the  student.  Ascham 's  language  is  plain  English 
prose  strong  in  idioms,  the  particular  characteristics  of 
which  were  "its  vigor  and  flexibility,  and  its  plea  for  the 
use  of  the  literary  'Englyshe  tonge'  as  opposed  to  Latin  or 
Greek. "...  For  this  work  he  not  only  received  the  notice 

*■  Foxe's  statements  are  characterized  by  too  zealous  a  partizanship  to  be  ac- 
cepted without  reserve.  His  exaggerations  have  led  to  attacks  from  Roman 
Catholic  churchmen  which  are  completely  justifiable,  and  his  lack  of  historical 
precision  has  been  forcefully  exposed  by  no  less  eminent  a  Protestant  critic 
than  Dr.  Samuel  R.  Maitland. 


76  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

of  the  King,  Henry  VIII.,  but  was  awarded  a  pension  of 
ilO  a  year.  Being  selected  as  private  tutor  to  Elizabeth, 
Ascham  spent  two  happy  years  (1548-1550)  in  what  proved 
to  him.  to  be  a  delightful  task — the  teaching  of  one  who 
loved  to  learn.  Later  he  went  to  Germany  as  secretary  of 
the  English  ambassador  at  the  Imperial  Court,  and  sub- 
sequently related  his  experiences  of  German  life  in  a  work 
entitled  "A  Report  and  Discourse  of  the  Affairs  and  State 
of  Germany." 

When  Queen  Mary  ascended  the  throne  of  England, 
Ascham,  who  was  a  fervent  Protestant,  was  temporarily 
under  cloud,  but  through  the  patronage  of  Gardiner,  who 
became  Mary's  chancellor,  his  pension  was  increased  to  £20 
a  year,  and  he  retained  his  post  as  university  orator,  be- 
sides being  appointed  Latin  secretary  to  the  Queen.  When 
his  former  pupil  ascended  the  throne  Ascham  was  already 
an  old  man,  but  he  had  employed  his  years  well  and  gave 
us  in  "The  Scholemaster"  the  first  important  work  on  edu- 
cation in  English  literature.  In  the  first  part  of  the  book 
the  author  condenuis  severity  as  a  treatment  for  the  young, 
and  in  the  second,  advocates  a  new  method  for  instruction 
in  Latin,  advising  that  it  be  practised  instead  of  compelling 
pupils  to  first  master  the  details  of  grammar. 

Seized  with  ague  while  writing  a  New  Year's  day  poem 
in  honor  of  his  Queen  and  former  pupil,  he  was  forced  to 
take  to  his  bed,  but  never  recovered.  He  died  December 
30,  1568. 

In  his  dedication  of  the  work,  ''To  all  the  Gentlemen 
and  Yeomen  of  England,"  he  recommends  to  him  that 
would  write  well  in  any  tongue  the  counsel  of  Aristotle — 
"To  speak  as  the  common  people  do,  to  think  as  wise  men 
do."     From  this  we  may  perceive  that  Ascham  had  a  true 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  77 

feeling  of  the  regard  due  to  the  great  fountain-head  and 
oracle  of  the  national  language — the  vocabulary  of  the 
common  people.  He  goes  on  to  reprobate  the  practise  of 
many  English  writers,  who  by  introducing  into  their  com- 
positions, in  violation  of  the  Aristotelian  precept,  many 
words  of  foreign  origin — Latin,  French,  and  Italian — made 
all  things  dark  and  hard.  "Once,"  he  says,  "I  com- 
muned with  a  man  which  reasoned  the  English  tongue  to 
be  enriched  and  increased  thereby,  saying,  Who  will  not 
praise  the  feast  where  a  man  shall  drink  at  a  dinner  both 
wine,  ale,  and  beer?  Truly,  quoth  I,  they  be  all  good, 
every  one  taken  by  himself  alone ;  but  if  you  put  malmsey 
and  sack,  red  wine  and  white,  ale  and  beer  and  all,  in  one 
pot,  you  shall  make  a  drink  neither  easy  to  be  known, 
nor  yet  wholesome  for  the  body."  The  English  language, 
however,  it  may  be  observed,  had  even  already  become  too 
thoroughly  and  essentially  a  mixed  tongue  for  this  doctrine 
of  purism  to  be  admitted  to  the  letter;  nor,  indeed,  to 
take  up  Ascham's  illustration,  is  it  universally  true,  even 
in  regard  to  liquids,  that  a  salutary  and  palatable  beverage 
can  never  be  made  by  the  interfusion  of  two  or  more 
different  kinds.  Our  tongue  is  now,  and  was  many  cen- 
turies ago,  not,  indeed,  in  its  grammatical  structure,  but 
in  its  vocabulary,  as  substantially  and  to  as  great  an  extent 
Neo-Latin  as  Gothic ;  it  would  be  as  completely  torn  in 
pieces  and  left  the  mere  tattered  rag  of  a  language,  useless 
for  all  the  purposes  of  speaking  as  well  as  of  writing,  by 
having  the  foreign  as  by  having  the  native  element  taken 
out  of  it.«» 

George  Buchanan,  proclaimed  the  greatest  scholar  that 

•"George  L.  Craik,   "A   Compendious   History   of  English   Literature,"   Vol. 
I.,  p.  443. 


78  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Scotland  has  produced,  and  master  of  the  instrument  of 
expression,  was  bom  in  the  parish  of  Killearn  in  Stirling- 
shire (?  Dumbartonshire),  Scotland,  in  February,  1506. 
His  father,  at  one  time  owner  of  the  farm  of  Moss  in  Kil- 
learn, died  at  an  early  age,  and  left  his  widow  in  abject 
poverty.  It  is  said  that  Buchanan  attended  the  parish 
school,  but  little  is  known  of  his  life  until  he  was  sent  to 
the  University  of  Paris  by  James  Heriot,  his  uncle.  Heriot 
died  two  years  later  and  Buchanan,  sick  and  poor,  was 
thrown  on  his  own  resources.  He  returned  to  Scotland, 
where  he  suffered  from  a  severe  illness.  On  his  recovery 
he  joined  the  French  troops,  which  had  been  imported  by 
the  Duke  of  Albany  to  make  a  raid  into  England.  The 
inroad  proving  unsuccessful,  Buchanan  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  St.*  Andrews  and  took  the  degree  of  bachelor  of 
arts  in  1525.  He  had  gone  there  chiefly  to  attend  John 
Mair's  (sometimes  printed  "Major")  lectures  on  logic,  and 
when  Mair  set  out  for  Paris  Buchanan  went  with  him. 

In  1529  Buchanan  became  professor  in  the  college  of  St. 
Barbe,  and  taught  there  for  three  years.  At  the  same  time 
he  acted  as  private  tutor  to  the  Earl  of  Cassilis,  but  for  five 
years,  and  when  the  Earl  returned  to  Scotland  Buchanan 
accompanied  him.  There  his  reputation  as  a  teacher  had 
preceded  him  and  King  James  V.  entrusted  the  tuition  of 
one  of  his  sons  to  Buchanan,  but  a  poem  which  he  wrote 
entitled  "  Franciscanus, "  and  in  which  he  attacked  the 
vices  of  the  clergy,  cost  him  his  office.  He  was  arrested,  but 
fortunately  escaped  and  reached  London  in  safety.  Thence 
he  proceeded  to  Paris,  but  there  found  an  implacable 
enemy.  Cardinal  Beaton.  Receiving  an  invitation  from 
Andrew  Govea  to  accompany  him  to  Bordeaux  Buchanan 
accepted,  and  was  chosen  professor  of  Latin  in  the  College 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  79 

of  Guienne.  Subsequently  he  returned  to  Paris,  where 
he  remained  three  years  as  regent  in  the  College  of  Car- 
dinal le  Moine.  Thence  (1547)  he  went  to  Portugal,  where 
he  occupied  a  chair  in  the  recently  founded  University  of 
Coimbra,  which  became  one  of  the  most  famous  seats  of 
learning  in  Europe.  But  his  tenure  of  office  was  not  to 
be  peaceful,  for  soon  after  the  death  of  his  friend  Govea, 
at  whose  suggestion  he  had  accepted'  the  professorship,  he 
was  subjected  to  persecution  by  the  priests  and  was  sum- 
moned several  times  before  the  Holy  Office,  which  ordered 
him  to  be  confined  in  a  monastery.  It  was  while  in  this 
confinement  that  he  made  his  famous  translation  of  the 
Psalms,  which  is  said  to  have  "a.  peculiar  grace  and 
feeling"  because  it  was  freely  executed  so  that  in  parts 
it  is  really  a  paraphrase  instead  of  an  exact  translation. 
Dr.  Collier  declares  that  the  104th  and  137th  Psalms  are 
"considered  the  gems  of  this  masterpiece  of  elegant 
scholarship  and  poetic  fire." 

Buchanan  returned  to  Scotland  in  1560  or  1561,  and 
notwithstanding  his  Protestant  views  was  appointed  tutor 
to  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  In  recognition  of  his  literary 
ability  she  subsequently  gave  him  the  temporalities  of 
Crossraguel  Abbey,  worth  about  £500  a  year.  In  1566  he 
was  named  principal  of  St.  Leonard's  College  at  St.  An- 
drews by  the  Earl  of  Murray,  and  after  the  tragic  death 
of  Damley  and  the  marriage  of  Mary  and  Bothwell,  under- 
took the  tuition  of  James  VI.,  which  he  accomplished  so 
well  that  James  became  known  as  the  ** British  Solomon." 
Buchanan  died  on  September  28,  1582,  so  poor  that  he  was 
buried  at  the  expense  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh. 

During  the  closing  years  of  his  career  he  produced  two 
important  books — one,  * '  De  Jure  Regni  Apud  Scotos, ' '  pub- 


80  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

lished  in  1579,  in  which  he  proclaimed  the  doctrine  that 
"the  source  of  all  political  power  is  the  people,  and  that 
the  King  is  bound  by  the  conditions  under  which  the 
supreme  power  was  first  committed  to  his  hands,  and  that 
it  is  lawful  to  resist,  even  to  punish,  tyrants. '  '^^  The  book 
was  twice  condemned,  and  in  1683  was  burned  by  the 
scholars  at  Oxford. 

The  second  was  a  ''History  of  Scotland,"  issued  in  1582. 
Its  chief  value  lay  in  the  record  of  events  during  the 
lifetime  of  the  author.  Buchanan's  influence  on  the  lan- 
guage was  indirect.  He  wrote  in  Latin,  of  which  he  was 
a  complete  master,  and  thus  helped  to  develop  the  study 
of  that  classic  language  in  the  land  of  his  birth. 

Sir  Philip  Sidney,  introduced  at  the  court  of  Elizabeth 
as  ''one  of  the  jewels  of  her  crown,"  courtier,  knight, 
statesman,  soldier,  poet,  was  bom  at  Penshurst  in  Kent, 
November  29,  1554.  He  was  educated  at  Shrewsbury 
school  and  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  In  1572  he  left  Eng- 
land for  the  continent  of  Europe,  where  he  spent  three 
years  in  traveling  through  France,  Germany,  and  Italy. 
On  his  return  home  he  was  presented  at  Court,  where  he 
instantly  won  favor,  possibly  through  the  influence  of  his 
uncle  Kobert  Dudley,  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  at  that 
time  was  at  the  height  of  his  power  as  royal  favorite. 

The  brilliant  pageant  produced  at  Kenilworth  in  honor 
of  Queen  Elizabeth's  visit  to  the  Earl  culminated  in  a 
masque  entitled  "The  Lady  of  the  May,"  which  was  writ- 
ten in  the  Queen's  honor  by  Sidney,  who  also  proved  him- 
self an  expert  in  horsemanship  and  with  sword  and  lance 
in  the  tournament  that  followed.  It  has  been  said  that  on 
this  occasion  while  playing  at  tennis  he  quarreled  with 

^  "Encyc.  Brit.,"  Vol.  IV,  s.v.   "Buchanan." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  81 

the  Earl  of  Oxford,  who  ordered  him  off  the  ground.  Sidney- 
refused;  swords  clashed,  but  the  Queen  intervened,  and 
taking  Sidney  aside  rebuked  him  for  his  behavior.  Unable 
to  bear  the  rebuke  so  publicly  administered,  Sidney  with- 
drew from  Court  to  Wilton,  the  seat  of  his  brother-in-law, 
the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  where  he  wrote  a  famous  prose 
romance  entitled,  "The  Countess  of  Pembroke's  Arcadia," 
a  work  not  published  until  four  years  after  his  death 
which  was  due  to  a  wound  received  at  the  battle  of 
Zutphen,  September  22,  1586. 

When  the  Earl  of  Leicester  set  out  on  an  expedition  to 
the  Netherlands,  Sidney  accompanied  him,  and  was  ap- 
pointed governor  of  Flushing.  His  death  has  been  at- 
tributed to  the  chivalric  impulse  which  led  him  to  cast 
aside  the  greaves  he  was  wearing  because  his  opponent 
entered  the  field  of  battle  without  his.  Sidney  thus  ex- 
posed received  a  shot  that  proved  fatal  and  he  died  at 
Arnheim  two  weeks  later  (October  7th).  The  truth  of  the 
story  that  on  the  field  of  Zutphen  he  paused  to  pass  a  cup 
of  water  to  a  soldier  who  lay  bleeding  to  death  by  the 
roadside  as  he  was  being  carried  by,  while  in  keeping  with 
his  character,  has  not  been  fully  established.  Of  the  effect 
of  his  death  on  his  contemporaries  the  late  Professor  Wil- 
liam Minto^^  wrote :  ' '  No  poet 's  death  was  ever  so  lamented 
by  poets  as  Sidney's.  Pastoral  elegy  was  in  fashion,  and 
all  the  numerous  poets  and  rhymesters  of  the  time,  from 
Spenser  to  Davison,  hastened  to  lay  their  tribute  of  verse 
on  the  bier  of  this  the  darling  of  all  the  Shepherds." 

Sidney,  besides  occupying  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
positions  at  Court,  took  a  permanent  place  in  English 
literature  as  the  author  of  the  first  important  collection  of 

'-  "Enoyc.    Brit.,"   s.v.    "Sidney." 


82  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

English  sonnets  (issued  under  the  title  "Astrophel  and 
Stella")  as  well  as  of  an  English  classic.  His  reputation 
rests  on  his  "Apologie  for  Poesie,"  a  brief  treatise  written 
in  1581  to  confute  the  opinions  of  that  class  of  Elizabethan 
Puritans  which  aimed  to  suppress  literature  and  art  as  well 
as  many  articles  of  adornment. 

Edmund  Spenser,  the  second  of  the  great  masters  of 
English  poetry,  was  bom  in  East  Smithfield,  London, 
about  the  year  1552.  The  accepted  date  of  his  birth  is 
based  upon  a  passage  in  the  sixtieth  sonnet  of  the  "Amor- 
etti, ' '  where  he  writes  of  having  lived  forty-one  years.  This 
work  was  published  in  1595.  The  place  of  his  birth  is 
traced  also  from  his  writings,  for  in  his  ''Prothalamion" 
we  read: 

Merry  London  my  most  kindly  nurse, 

That  to  me  gave  this  life's  first  native  source. 

Spenser  was  educated  at  the  Merchant  Taylor's  School 
and  at  Pembroke  Hall,  Cambridge,  whither  he  was  sent 
through  the  benevolence  of  Robert  Nowell,  a  London  mer- 
chant. Spenser  was  about  sixteen  years  old  when  he  entered 
Pembroke,  which  he  did  as  a  sizar,  and  was  graduated 
therefrom  as  master  of  arts  in  1576.  How  he  occupied  the 
three  succeeding  years  is  not  known,  but  in  1579  he  issued 
a  volume  of  verse  entitled  "The  Shepherd's  Calendar." 
This,  it  has  been  said,  was  the  balm  that  healed  a  wounded 
heart,  for  he  had  paid  court  to  a  lady  whom  he  called  Rosa- 
lind, who,  after  she  had  tired  of  his  attentions,  discarded 
him.  Although  this  poem  was  begun  in  the  North  of 
England  it  was  finished  at  Penshurst,  the  home  of  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  where  Spenser  met  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  who 
' '  put  him  in  the  way  of  preferment. ' '     The  entire  poem  is 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  83 

in  reality  a  personal  narrative  of  Spenser's  experiences,  and 
it  was  dedicated  to  Sidney,  who  obtained  for  him  a  secre- 
taryship to  Lord  Grey  of  Wilton,  whom  he  accompanied  to 
Ireland  when  the  latter  was  appointed  Lord-Lieutenant  of 
that  country.  Outside  of  the  charm  and  power  of  the 
''Shepherd's  Calendar"  there  is  little  in  it  to  attract  the 
reader,  for  this  work  requires  a  special  training  to  under- 
stand it  to  the  full,  since  its  language  is  composite,  being  a 
combination  of  Chaucerian  English  with  North  Anglian. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  received  with  marked  enthusiasm, 
chiefly  because  it  was  in  a  form  then  unknown  to  English 
literature,  and  showed  unmistakable  command  of  meter  and 
phrase. 

Spenser's  greatest  achievement,  **The  Faerie  Queene," 
which  he  himself  modestly  called  a  ** simple  song,"  proved 
to  be  the  greatest  poem  that  was  written  in  England  since 
Chaucer  wrote  his  "Canterbury  Tales."  Spenser  created 
the  nine-lined  stanza  in"  which  this  poem  was  penned.  The 
first  three  books  of  "The  Faerie  Queene"  were  written 
among  the  green  alders  by  the  Mulla  's  shore,  whither  Spen- 
ser withdrew  after  the  death  of  his  friend  Sidney.  They 
were  issued  in  1590.  When  asked  to  explain  "the  ethical 
part  of  moral  philosophy"  by  some  of  his  associates  then 
in  Ireland,  he  replied  that  he  could  not  do  so  offhand,  but 
that  he  had  in  preparation  a  poem  which  would  illustrate 
it  in  action.  Spenser  was  esteemed  by  these  associates 
as  a  scholar  "not  only  perfect  in  the  Greek  tongue,  but  also 
very  well  read  in  philosophy,  both  moral  and  natural." 
This  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  Spenser,  if  not 
actually  the  most  learned,  was  one  of  the  most  learned  of 
the  English  poets.  In  1596  Spenser,  who  had  held  public 
office  first  as  clerk  of  the  council  for  Munster  and  later  as 


84  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

sheriff  of  Cork,  went  to  England,  and  there  published  the 
fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  books  of  ' '  The  Faerie  Queene, ' '  and 
then  returned  home,  where  he  hoped  to  live  the  rest  of  his 
life  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  that  reputation  which  his 
work  had  achieved  for  him.  But  he  had  barely  settled 
down  there  when  the  smoldering  embers  of  rebellion  broke 
aflame,  and  the  oppressed  peasantry  marched  upon  his 
home,  which  they  sacked  and  set  on  fire.  Spenser  and  his 
wife,  who  were  forced  to  abandon  their  child  in  the  haste 
of  their  flight,  barely  escaped  with  their  lives,  and,  crossing 
to  England,  found  shelter  in  King  Street,  "Westminster, 
where,  three  months  later,  the  poet  passed  away  (January 
16,  1599).  He  died  in  abject  poverty.  Ben  Jonson  de- 
clared that  he  perished  for  lack  of  bread,  and  that  when 
the  Earl  of  Essex  heard  of  his  distress  he  sent  twenty  pieces"^ 
to  relieve  his  need,  but  the  poet  returned  them,  regretting 
he  had  no  time  to  spend  them. 

The  quality  of  Spenser's  work  in  "The  Faerie  Queene" 
was  uneven.  The  earlier  books  show  the  poet  at  his  best ;  in 
the  later  books  he  seems  to  have  striven  to  interweave  with 
allegory  the  history  of  his  own  time,  and  thereby  marred 
what  has  otherwise  been  described  as  the  most  exquisite 
picture  of  chivalrous  life  that  has  ever  been  limned  in 
English  words.  Nevertheless,  Spenser  has  exerted  great 
influence  on  the  poetic  literature  of  England.  In  his  own 
day  he  had  several  imitators,  such  as  "William  Smith,  who 
wrote  *'Chloris"  (1595),  and  Richard  Niccols,  the  author 
of  "The  Beggar's  Ape"  (1627).  Milton,  who  characterized 
him  as  "our  sage  and  serious  poet,  Spenser,"  considered 
him  a  sure  guide  as  a  thinker  and  as  a  poet.  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson  attributed  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  to  the 

*'  A  piece  was  an  English  coin  worth  from  20  to  22  shillings. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  85 

influence  of  Spenser's  ''Faerie  Queene"  on  its  author. 
Dryden  found  in  Spenser  a  master  of  English  and  one 
endowed  with  natural  genius  and  a  greater  fund  orf 
knowledge  to  support  it  than  any  other  poet.  James 
Russell  Lowell  declared  that  no  other  poet  has  given  an 
impulse  to  so  many  and  so  diverse  minds  as  did  Spenser, 
under  whose  inspiration  wrote  such  men  as  Thomson, 
Bums,  Coleridge,  Wordsworth,  Southey,  Keats,  Shelley, 
and  Byron.  Charles  Lamb  gave  him  his  just  title  when  he 
styled  Spenser  "the  poet's  poet." 

Although  his  work  ranks  below  that  of  Chaucer,  Shake- 
speare, Ben  Jonson,  and  Milton,  it  unites  rare  genius  with 
purity,  luxuriant  and  prolific  power  of  imagination  with 
sweetness  of  language  and  elegance  of  expression.  For  ten- 
derness of  feeling  and  purity  of  thought  Spenser's  work 
has  possibly  never  been  surpassed. 

The  following  extract  from  the  second  eclogue  of  the 
"Shepherd's  Calendar,"  tells  in  part  the  "Tale  of  the 
Oak  and  the  Briar,"  and  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  Eng- 
lish in  1579 : 

There  grew  an  aged  tree  on  the  green, 
A  goodly  Oak  sometime  had  it  been, 
With  arms  full  strong  and  lei'gely  displayed, 
But  of  their  leaves  they  were  disarrayed; 
The  body  big  and  mightily  pight,^ 
Throughly  rooted,  and  of  wondrous  height: 
Whilom  he  had  been  the  king  of  the  field. 
And  mocheP^  mast  to  the  husband^^  did  yield, 
And  with  his  nuts  larded  many  swine; 
And  now  the  grey  moss  marred  his  rine;^^ 
His  bared  boughs  were  beaten  with  storms, 
His  top  was  bald  and  wasted  with  worms, 

••  Firm.  "*  Husbandman. 

"Much.  •'Rind    (bark). 


86  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

His  honour  decayed,  his  branches  sere. 
Hard  by  his  side  grew  a  bragging  Brere, 
Which  proudly  thrust  into  th'  element, 
And  seemed  to  threat  the  firmament; 
It  was  embellished  with  blossoms  fair, 
And  thereto  aye  wonted  to  repair 
The  shepherds'  daughters  to  gather  flowers, 
To  paint  their  garlands  with  his  colours; 
iAnd  in  his  small  bushes  used  to  shrowd 
The  sweet  nightingale,  singing  so  loud; 
Which  made  this  foolish  Brere  wex  so  bold, 
That  on  a  time  he  cast  him  to  scold 
And  sneb  the  good  Oak,  for  he  was  old. 
Why  stand 'st  there,  quoth  he,  thou  brutish  block? 

When  Richard  Hooker  gave  to  the  world  his  "Laws  of 
Ecclesiastical  Polity"  he  enriched  English  literature  with 
a  masterpiece  of  philosophical  thought,  notable  as  much  for 
its  gracefulness  of  style  as  for  its  nice  discriminations  in 
the  choice  of  words.  Hooker  was  born  at  Heavitree,  near 
Exeter,  England,  in  1553  or  1554.  While  at  school  he 
showed  such  marked  aptitude  and  unusual  facility  in 
acquiring  knowledge  that  his  teacher  advised  his  parents 
to  educate  him  for  the  Church.  This  they  were  unable  to 
do,  but  an  uncle,  John  Hooker,  secured  his  admission 
to  Corpus  Christi  College  at  Oxford,  gave  him  a  small 
pension,  and  secured  for  him  the  patronage  of  Bishop 
Jewel,  through  whose  influence  he  obtained  a  clerkship  in 
the  college. 

In  1567  Richard  Hooker  entered  on  his  duties,  and  had 
been  in  the  University  barely  four  years  when  his  patron, 
Bishop  Jewel,  died  (1571).  Fortunately  for  him,  he  found 
another  friend  in  Dr.  Cole,  then  the  president  of  the  col- 
lege, who  offered  to  replace  Jewel  as  his  patron.  Necessity 
compelled  Hooker  to  accept,  but  he  determined  to  secure  his 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  87 

independence,  and  devoted  all  his  spare  time  to  teaching. 
Among  his  pupils  were  Edwin  Sandys  and  George  Cran- 
mer.  It  was  due  to  the  influence  of  the  former  upon  his 
father,  the  Archbishop  of  York,  that  Hooker  received  the 
Mastership  of  the  Temple  (1585).  "While  at  the  University, 
Hooker  became  so  famous  as  a  scholar  in  Oriental  lan- 
guages that  in  1579  he  was  appointed  lecturer  in  Hebrew, 
and  two  years  later  entered  the  Church. 

Immediately  after  Hooker  had  entered  into  his  duties  as 
Master  of  the  Temple  he  came  into  contact  with  his  rival  for 
that  office,  William  Travers,  who  held  a  lectureship  in  the 
Temple  at  the  time.  According  to  custom,  Hooker  was 
called  upon  to  preach  a  sermon  every  morning,  while  Trav- 
ers had  to  deliver  a  lecture  every  afternoon.  As  each  man 
held  views  diametrically  opposed  to  the  other,  it  was  not 
long  before  Travers,  in  his  afternoon  lectures,  aimed  to 
refute  the  views  expressed  in  the  sermon  delivered  by 
Hooker  in  the  morning.  So  keen  became  the  contest  that 
Archbishop  Whitgift  forbade  Travers  to  preach.  This 
drove  the  rivals  into  print.  Travers  petitioned  the  Council 
to  rescind  the  prohibition,  and  Hooker  published  "An 
Answer  to  the  Petition  of  Mr.  Travers."  In  addition,  he 
printed  a  number  of  sermons  dealing  with  certain  specific 
points  in  the  controversy;  but  realizing  that  he  could  not 
treat  the  subject  as  a  whole  satisfactorily  in  this  way,  he 
determined  to  write  a  comprehensive  treatise  by  which  its 
merits  might  be  judged.  To  this  end  he  petitioned  Arch- 
bishop Whitgift  for  permission  to  withdraw  from  the  Tem- 
ple, begging  at  the  same  time  that  he  might  be  appointed 
to  some  country  parsonage,  where,  as  he  expressed  it,  "I 
may  keep  myself  in  peace  and  privacy  and  behold  God's 
blessing  spring  out  of  my  mother  earth,  and  eat  my  own 


88  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

bread  without  oppositions. ' '  Hooker 's  wish  being  granted, 
he  withdrew  in  1591  to  the  rectory  of  Boscombe,  in  Wilt- 
shire, where  he  set  to  work  to  produce  his  ' '  Eight  Books  of 
the  Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity."  The  first  four  of  these 
he  published  in  1594,  and  in  1595  was  rewarded  for  the 
service  he  had  done  the  Church  thereby  with  the  rectorship 
of  Bishop's  Bournes,  near  Canterbury,  in  Kent,  whither 
he  removed,  and  there  strove  to  complete  the  rest  of  the 
series,  but  while  traveling  from  Gravesend  to  London  he 
took  a  severe  cold,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  on 
November  2,  1600.  The  fifth  book  was  printed  in  1597,  and 
a  volume  containing  what  purported  to  be  the  sixth  and 
eighth  books  appeared  in  1648.  The  authenticity  of  the 
sixth  book  has  been  challenged,  and  was  shown  by  Keble  to 
consist  of  matter  totally  at  variance  with  the  subject  which 
Hooker  had  designed  to  treat.  The  seventh  book,  which 
was  published  in  1662,  formed  a  part  of  a  new  edition  of 
the  work  issued  by  Gauden.  This  and  the  eighth  book  are 
considered  in  substance  the  work  of  Hooker. 

The  chief  charm  of  Hooker's  "Ecclesiastical  Polity"  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  contains  no  affectations  of  language.  Its 
clearness,  however,  is  marred  by  such  intricacies  of  con- 
struction as  the  inversion  of  clauses  and  the  great  length  of 
many  of  its  sentences,  but  these  defects  are  compensated 
by  the  moderation  of  its  tone  and  the  dignity  of  its  style. 
Hallam,  the  historian,  pronounced  the  first  book  "a  master- 
piece of  English  eloquence." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  that  part  of  ''Eccle- 
siastical Polity"  which  treats  of  "the  Law  whereby  Man 
is  in  his  Actions  directed  to  the  imitation  of  God": 

God  alone  excepted,  who  actually  and  everlastingly  is  what- 
soever he  may  be,  and  which  cannot  hereafter  be  that  which 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  89 

now  he  is  not;  all  other  things  besides  are  somewhat  in  possi- 
bility, which  as  yet  they  are  not  in  act.  And  for  this  cause 
there  is  in  all  things  an  appetite  or  desire,  whereby  they  .incline 
to  something  which  they  may  be;  and  when  they  are  it,  they 
shall  be  perfeeter  than  now  they  are.  All  which  perfections 
are  contained  under  the  general  name  of  Goodness.  And  be- 
cause there  is  not  in  the  world  any  thing  whereby  another  may 
not  some  way  be  made  the  perfeeter,  therefore  all  things  that 
are,  are  good.  Again,  sith  there  can  be  no  goodness  desired 
which  proceedeth  not  from  God  himself,  as  from  the  supreme 
cause  of  all  things;  and  every  effect  doth  after  a  sort  contain, 
at  least  wise  resemble,  the  cause  from  which  it  proceedeth:  all 
things  in  the  world  are  said  in  some  sort  to  seek  the  highest, 
and  to  covet  more  or  less  the  participation  of  God  himself. 
Yet  this  doth  nowhere  so  much  appear  as  it  doth  in  man;  be- 
cause there  are  so  many  kinds  of  perfections  which  man  seeketh. 
The  first  degree  of  goodness  is  that  general  perfection  which 
all  things  do  seek,  in  desiring  the  continuance  of  their  being. 
All  things  therefore  coveting  as  much  as  may  be  to  be  like  unto 
God  in  being  ever,  that  which  cannot  hereunto  attain  personally 
doth  seek  to  continue  itself  another  way,  that  is  by  offspring 
and  propagation.  The  next  degree  of  goodness  is  that  which 
each  thing  coveteth  by  affecting  resemblance  with  God,  in  the 
constancy  and  excellency  of  those  operations  which  belong  unto 
their  kind.  The  immutability  of  God  they  strive  unto,  by 
working  either  always  or  for  the  most  part  after  one  and  the 
same  manner;  his  absolute  exactness  they  imitate,  by  tending 
unto  that  which  is  most  ex'quisite  in  every  particular.  Hence 
have  risen  a  number  of  axioms  in  philosophy,  showing  how 
The  works  of  nature  do  always  aim  at  that  which  cannot  be 
bettered. 

1.  The  Influence  of  the  Drama 
The  dramatic  productions  already  referred  to  as  Mystery 
Plays  (see  ''Chaucerian  Period,"  p.  34),  which  originated 
with  the  monks,  and  usually  treated  religious  themes,  were 
subsequently  divided  into  Miracles  and  Moralities — the 
Miracles  being  restricted  to  plays  based  upon  Bible  narra- 


90  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

tive  or  on  the  legendary  history  of  the  saints,  and  the 
Moralities  being  confined  to  the  presentation  of  allegorical 
stories  designed  to  teach  ethical  or  religious  lessons. 

The  division  was  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that,  with  the 
advancement  of  learning,  there  was  a  corresponding  ele- 
vation of  public  taste  and  a  consequent  demand  for  some- 
thing more  refined  than  the  Miracle  Plays  which,  by  the 
time  of  Henry  VI,  (1422-1461),  had  come  into  the  control 
of  laymen,  and  were  used  by  them  as  a  means  for  attack- 
ing the  clergy.  Then  the  most  sacred  themes  were  treated 
with  scandalous  freedom  and  in  the  broadest  manner.  The 
coarsest  of  mirth  and  filthiest  of  jokes  were  introduced  to 
cater  to  ''the  brutality  or  pruriency"  ^^  of  the  audience. 

Of  the  Miracles,  the  Coventry  Mysteries  were,  probably, 
among  the  most  famous.  Dugdale  in  his  "History  of 
Warwickshire,"  published  in  1656,  states  that  "Before  the 
suppression  of  the  monasteries  this  city  was  very  famous 
for  the  pageants  that  were  play'd  therein,  upon  Corpus 
Christi  Day  (one  of  their  ancient  f aires)  which  occasioning 
very  great  confluence  of  people  thither  from  far  and  near, 
was  of  no  small  benefit  thereto :  which  pageants  being  acted 
with  mighty  state  and  reverence  by  the  Grey  Friers,  had 
theaters  for  the  several  scenes,  very  large  and  high,  placed 
upon  wheels,  and  drawn  to  all  the  eminent  parts  of  the 
city,  for  the  better  advantage  of  spectators,  and  con- 
tain'd  the  story  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  composed 
in  the  old  Englishe  rithme,  as  appeareth  by  an  ancient 
MS.  (in  Bibl.  Cotton.  Vesp.  D.  VIII)  intituled,  'Ludus 
Corporis  Christi,'  or  'Ludus  Coventriae.'  "  "I  have  been 
told,"  says  Dugdale,  "by  some  old  people,  who  in  their 
younger   years   were    eye-witnesses   of  these   pageants   so 

98  Thomas  Arnold,  "Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  article,  "English  Literature." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  91 

acted,  that  the  yearly  confluence  of  people  to  see  that  shew 
was  extraordinary  great,  and  yielded  no  small  advantage  to 
this  city."  The  celebrity  of  the  performances  may  be 
inferred  from  the  rank  of  the  audiences ;  for,  at  the  festival 
of  Corpus  Christi,  in  1483,  Richard  III.  visited  Coventry  to 
see  the  plays,  and  at  the  same  season,  in  1492,  they  were 
attended  by  Henry  VII.  and  his  queen,  by  whom  they 
were  highly  commended. 

To  what  Dugdale  tells  of  the  Coventry  Mysteries  may  be 
added  Archdeacon  Rogers's  account  of  those  played  at  Ches- 
ter. ' '  The  Mysteries  acted  there  are  four  and  twenty  in  num- 
ber, and  were  performed  by  the  trading  companies  of  the 
city.  Every  company  had  his  pagiante,  or  parte,  which 
pagiantes  were  a  highe  scafolde  with  two  rowmes,  a  higher 
and  a  lower  upon  4  wheeles.  In  the  lower  they  apparelled 
themselves,  in  the  higher  rowme  they  played,  being  all 
open  on  the  tope,  that  all  behoulders  might  heare  and  see 
them.  The  places  where  they  played  them  was  in  every 
streete.  They  begane  first  at  the  Abay  Gates,  and  when 
the  pagiante  was  played,  it  was  wheeled  to  the  High  Cross 
before  the  mayor,  and  so  to  every  streete;  and  so  every 
street  had  a  pagiante  playing  before  them,  till  all  the 
pagiantes  for  the  daye  appointed  were  played,  and  when 
one  pagiante  was  neere  ended,  worde  was  broughte  from 
streete  to  streete,  that  soe  the  mighte  come  in  place  thereof, 
excedinge  orderlye,  and  all  the  streetes  had  their  pagiante 
afore  them,  all  at  one  time,  playing  together,  to  se  which 
playes  was  great  resorte,  and  also  scafoldes,  and  stages 
made  in  the  streetes,  in  those  places  wheare  they  deter- 
mined to  playe  their  pagiantes."  (Harleian  MS.  1948.) 
These  were  performed  for  the  last  time  in  1574. 

The  Moralities   were  written   on   a   higher   plane   and 


92  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

proved  to  be  the  medium  of  transition  to  the  modem  drama. 
But  the  depicting  of  Virtue  vanquishing  Vice  was  not 
altogether  to  the  public  taste,  especially  when  it  took  as 
many  as  nine  hours  to,  accomplish  the  task,  and  the 
Moralities,  unable  to  withstand  the  introduction  of  the 
translated  plays  of  Plautus  and  Terence,  which  were  the 
pioneers  of  a  higher  state  of  culture,  gradually  lost  their 
hold  on  the  public.  John  Heywood's  "Interludes,"  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  proved  another  step  in 
advance  since  instead  of  personifications,  genuine  char- 
acters appeared  therein,  not  as  individuals,  but  as  types 
of  certain  classes  such  as  a  palmer,  pedler,  soldier,  etc. 
But  the  molding  of  English  drama  into  refined  form  was 
done  through  the  agency  of  Greek  and  Latin  plays  and 
the  elegant  productions  of  Italy  and  Spain.  With  the 
higher  tone  came  greater  popularity,  and  the  demand  for  a 
fixed  home  instead  of  a  traveling  one  for  plays  and  players. 
Before  the  licensed  theater  was  introduced  the  court- 
yards of  many  of  the  London  inns  were  occasionally  con- 
verted into  temporary  theaters.  Among  these  the  yards 
of  *'La  Belle  Sauvage"  at  the  foot  of  Ludgate  Hill,  of 
"The  Eed  Bull"  in  Bishopsgate  Street,  and  of  "The  Cross 
Keys"  in  Gracechurch  Street,  London,  were  the  most 
popular.  Five  of  them  were  converted  into  permanent 
playhouses  between  1570  and  1630.  During  this  period 
theaters  were  built,  and  the  stage  became  a  permanent  in- 
stitution. So  great  was  the  demand  for  theatrical  enter- 
tainment during  Elizabeth 's  reign  that  licenses  were  issued 
to  no  less  than  200  playhouses  in  different  parts  of  London. 
Then  the  players  were  under  the  patronage  of  the  Queen  or 
of  some  nobleman,  or  they  would  have  been  unable  to 
pursue  their  calling  in  safety.     The  first  licensed  public 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  93 

theater  was  opened  at  Blackfriars,  London,  in  1576,  and 
thenceforward  the  influence  of  the  drama  on  the  life  and 
manners,  as  well  as  on  the  speech  of  the  people  was 
established.  With  the  dawn  of  the  Commonwealth  (1649) 
came  the  closing  of  the  theaters,  for  the  God-fearing  Puri- 
tans had  no  use  for  a  stage  that  was  steeped  in  shameless 
vices  and  one  where  unbridled  licentiousness  held  sway- 
They  were  kept  shut  until  the  Restoration  (1660)  and 
reopened  with  a  blaze  of  splendor,  which  had  a  dazzling 
effect  on  the  people.  "Women  now  first  impersonated  the 
feminine  characters.  Stage  settings  were  changed  and  beau- 
tifully painted  scenery  replaced  the  crude  notice-boards 
of  the  formative  period.  Brilliant  costumes  displaced  the 
tawdry  attire  of  the  players.  The  playhouses  themselves 
were  finely  decorated.  No  effort  was  spared  to  draw  the 
people  out  of  the  restraining  influence  under  which  the 
Puritan  government  had  left  them.  Every  night  they 
swarmed  to  the  play  to  be  entertained  with  scenes  in  which 
Vice  attired  in  the  garb  of  Virtue  flaunted  itself  upon  the 
boards.  The  plays  of  Dryden  and  of  Wycherley,  those  of 
Congreve,  Vanbrugh,  and  Farquhar,  were  all  morally  bad. 
In  fact,  under  the  Restoration  the  tone  of  the  drama  was 
debased  by  Avorks  that  were  a  disgrace  to  the  nation ;  works 
which  lowered  the  standard  of  public  morality  so  effectually 
that  almost  half  a  century  passed  before  the  corrupt  tastes 
were  corrected. 

In  the  history  of  the  English  stage  Thomas  Sackville, 
later  known  as  Lord  Buckhurst,  ranks  as  the  first  writer 
of  genuine  English  tragedy.  When  a  student  in  the  Tem- 
ple he  collaborated  with  Thomas  Norton  in  writing  a  play 
then  named  '"Gorboduc,"  but  which  when  revised  was 


94 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


called  "Ferrex  and  Porrex."  By  command  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  who  on  her  accession  to  the  throne  had  selected 
Sackville  for  ''continual  private  attendance  upon  her 
own  person/'  the  play  was  performed  by  some  of  Sack- 
ville's  fellow  students  in  the  Temple  at  Whitehall  as  a 
part  of  the  Christmas  festivities  of  1561. 

Sackville  was  born  in  1536  at  Buckhurst  in  Sussex,  Eng- 
land. His  father,  Sir  Richard  Sackville,  was  distantly  re- 
lated to  Elizabeth  through  the  Boleyn  family.  Among  his 
friends  he  counted  Roger  Ascham,  who  may  possibly  have 
taken  some  part  in  educating  the  young  dramatist-poet, 
who  became  a  distinguished  diplomat.  A  few  years  of 
tuition  at  home,  entrance  at  Hart  Hall,  Oxford,  where  he 
remained  only  a  few  terms,  and  a  continuation  of  his  course 
of  studies  at  Cambridge  led  to  his  taking  the  degree  of 
master  of  arts  at  the  latter  institution.  Before  leaving 
the  university  he  achieved  some  reputation  as  a  poet,  and 
subsequently  wrote,  in  the  form  of  an  allegory,  a  preface 
to  a  series  of  poems  descriptive  of  the  tragic  fates  of  famous 
men.  This  was  "The  Induction  to  the  Mirrour  of  Magis- 
trates." The  first  of  the  series  was  "The  Complaint  of 
Henry,  Duke  of  Buckingham."  The  remainder,  the  work 
of  writers  of  lesser  rank,  consists  of  poetic  histories  of  the 
lives  of  the  famous  men  who  fell  as  martyrs  during  the 
gloomy  years  of  Queen  Mary's  reign.  The  Induction  de- 
scribes Revenge,  Dread,  and  Remorse, "within  the  porch  and 
jaws  of  hell"  as  well  as  other  awful  influences  which  prey 
unceasingly  upon  human  weakness.  Although  this  poem 
consists  of  only  a  few  hundred  lines,  these  show  such  power 
and  command  of  language  as  to  have  earned  for  Sackville 
a  high  place  among  British  poets. 

As  a  statesman  and  ambassador,  Sackville  carried  out 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  95 

his  instructions  and  all  negotiations  entrusted  to  him  with 
fearless  fidelity  and  honor  to  his  country  and  to  himself. 
It  was  he  who,  in  1586,  was  selected  for  the  delicate  task 
of  announcing  her  doom  to  the  ill-fated  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots.  Again,  in  1587,  he  was  sent  as  ambassador  to  The 
Hague  to  "expostulate  in  favor  of  peace  with  a  people  who 
knew  that  their  existence  depended  on  war."  That  he 
discharged  his  duties  with  sagacity  was  shown  by  the  his- 
torian of  ''The  United  Netherlands,"  yet  on  his  return 
home  he  received  no  praise  but  incurred  Elizabeth's  dis- 
pleasure on  account  of  the  independent  course  he  chose  to 
pursue  in  regard  to  the  Queen's  favorite,  the  Earl  of 
Leicester,  and  in  consequence  was  ordered  to  remain  within 
the  precincts  of  his  own  estate  for  almost  a  year.  He  re- 
turned to  favor  after  the  death  of  Leicester,  and  in  1588 
was  created  knight  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter.  When  the 
Chancellorship  of  the  University  of  Oxford  became  vacant 
Sackville  was  selected  to  fill  it,  and  on  the  death  of  Lord 
Burleigh,  in  1599,  was  appointed  Lord  High  Treasurer  of 
England,  an  office  which  he  held  till  death  came  suddenly 
upon  him  while  seated  at  a  council  table  at  Whitehall, 
April  19,  1608. 

The  following  lines  are  from  ''The  Induction"  and  afford 
a  vivid  picture  of  the  author's  idea  of  a  winter's  day: 

The  Induction 

The  wrathful  Winter,  proaching  on  apace, 
With  blustering'  blasts  had  all  ybared  the  treen, 
And  old  Saturnns,  with  his  frosty  face, 
With  chilling  cold  had  pierced  the  tender  green ; 
The  mantles  rent,  wherein  enwrapped  been 
The  gladsome  groves  that  now  lay  overthrown, 
The  tapets  torn,  and  every  tree  down  blown. 


96  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  Soil,  that  erst  so  seemly  was  to  seen, 

Was  all  despoiled  of  her  beauty's  hue; 

And  soote  fresh  flowers,  wherewith  the  Summer's  Queen 

Had  clad  the  earth,  now  Boreas'  blasts  down  blew; 

And  small  fowls,  flocking,  in  their  song  did  rue 

The  Winter's  wrath,  wherewith  each  thing  defaced 

In  woful  wise  bewailed  the  summer  past. 

Hawthorn  had  lost  his  motley  livery, 

The  naked  twigs  were  shivering  all  for  cold, 

And  dropping  down  the  tears  abundantly ; 

Each  thing,  methought,  with  weeping  eye  me  told 

The  cruel  season,  bidding  me  withhold 

Myself  within;  for  I  was  gotten  out 

Into  the  fields,  whereas  I  walked  about. 

When  lo  the  Night,  with  misty  mantles  spread, 
Gan  dark  the  day,  and  dim  the  azure  skies; 
And  Venus  in  her  message  Hermes  sped 
To  bloody  Mars,  to  will  him  not  to  rise. 
Which  she  herself  approached  in  speedy  wise; 
And  Virgo  hiding  her  disdainful  breast, 
With  Thetis  now  had  laid  her  down  to  rest. 


And  pale  Cynthea,  with  her  borrowed  light, 
Beginning  to  supply  her  brother's  place. 
Was  past  the  noonsteed  six  degrees  in  sight, 
When  sparkling  stars  amid  the  heaven  's  face. 
With  twinkling  light  shone  on  the  earth  apace, 
That,  while  they  brought  about  the  Nightes  chare, 
The  dark  had  dimmed  the  day  ere  I  was  ware. 

And  sorrowing  I  to  see  "^he  summer  flowers. 
The  lively  green,  the  lusty  leas  forlorn. 
The  sturdy  trees  so  shattered  with  the  showers. 
The  fields  so  fade  that  florished  so  befom, 
It  taught  me  well — all  earthly  things  be  born 

To  die  the  death,  for  nought  long  time  may  last; 

The  summer's  beauty  yields  to  winter's  blast. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  97 

In  English  literature  the  light  which  has  shone  with 
the  greatest  brilliancy  during  the  past  three  hundred  years, 
and  burns  with  most  luster  to-day,  is  that  which  was  kindled 
by  William  Shakespeare.  With  a  remarkably  small  vocabu- 
lary at  his  command  Shakespeare  described  or  depicted 
the  widest  variety  of  human  experience.  In  his  own  time, 
Jonson,  his  contemporary,  "allowed  him  the  first  place 
among  all  dramatists,  including  those  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  claimed  that  all  Europe  owed  him  homage."  Of  all 
the  great  literary  works  the  world  has  seen,  excepting  the 
Bible,  none  have  been  translated  more  often  and  into  a 
greater  number  of  languages  than  the  plays  and  poems  of 
William  Shakespeare.  To  him  more  than  to  any  other 
master  of  English  we  owe  an  everlasting  debt  as  the  su- 
preme creative  and  poetical  genius  of  our  tongue.  No  writer 
has  ever  approached  him  in  constructive  power;  none 
has  ever  shown  such  strength  combined  with  such  varied 
imagination.  In  his  dramatic  work  he  portrayed  every 
condition  of  life  and  almost  every  phase  of  human  affairs 
conceivable.  Of  his  genius  no  estimate  can  be  adequate. 
His  knowledge  of  human  character,  his  wealth  of  wit,  his 
intensity  of  passion,  his  fertility  of  imagination,  and  his 
mastery  of  language  have  never  been  equaled.  Shake- 
speare's style,  if  compared  with  that  of  all  other  authors, 
will  be  found  to  be  the  most  natural.  Of  the  art  of  eupho- 
nious expression  he  was  past  master.  Every  page  of  his 
work  contains  examples  of  that  form  of  intensified  ex- 
pression in  which  some  well-chosen  words  convey  a  com- 
plete train  of  ideas  focused  on  a  single  perspicuous  point 
— words  so  free,  so  well  fitted  to  express  his  ideas,  and  so 
natural  and  familiar  that  their  full  meaning  can  be  easily 
understood  by  the  simplest  mind.    Of  his  manner,  the  late 


98  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Professor  Spencer  Baynes  said:  "He  could  talk  simply 
and  naturally  without  a  touch  of  patronage  or  condescension 
to  a  hodman  on  his  ladder,  costermonger  at  his  stall,  the 
tailor  on  his  board,  the  cobbler  in  his  combe  .  .  .  the  plow- 
man in  his  furrow,  or  the  base  mechanicals  at  the  wayside 
country  inn.  .  .  .  He  could  seize  from  the  inner  side  by 
links  of  vital  affinity  every  form  of  higher  character,  pas- 
sionate, reflective,  or  executive — lover  and  prince,  duke  and 
captain,  legislator  and  judge,  counselor  and  king — and 
portray  with  almost  equal  ease  and  with  vivid  truthfulness 
men  and  women  of  distant  ages,  of  different  races,  and 
widely  sundered  nationalities."^^ 

Shakespeare's  wit  was  boundless,  his  passion  intense  and 
inimitable.  His  thirty-seven  plays  are  classed  as  comedies, 
tragedies,  and  histories.  The  finest  of  his  comedies  are 
"As  You  Like  It,"  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,"  and 
"The  Merchant  of  Venice."  His  great  tragedies  are  "Mac- 
beth," "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  "Othello,"  "Hamlet,"  and 
"King  Lear,"  and  of  his  histories  the  finest  are  "Julius 
Caesar,"  "Henry  V.,"  and  "Richard  III."  To  have  read 
these  eleven  plays  is  to  have  read  Shakespeare  at  his  best. 

Some  critics  have  censured  Shakespeare's  language  for 
obscurity — "it  is  full  of  new  words  in  new  senses"  they 
say.  As  to  this,  Sidney  Lee  declares  that  "although  sud- 
den transitions,  elliptical  expressions,  mixed  metaphors, 
obsolete  words,  indefensible  verbal  quibbles,  and  a  few  hope- 
lessly corrupt  readings  disturb  the  modem  reader's  equa- 
nimity, the  glow  of  the  author's  imagination  leaves  few 
passages  wholly  unilluminated."""  It  is  unfortunate  for 
the  language  that  some  persons  more  familiar  with  the 

"  "Encyc.    Brit."    s.v.    "Shakespeare." 

^"^  "Diet,  of  National  Biog.,"  s.v.  "Shakespeare." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  99 

text  than  with  the  spirit  of  Shakespeare's  writings  are 
given  to  cite  him  as  authority  in  defense  of  illiterate  Eng- 
lish forms.  These  persons  often  overlook  the  type  of 
character  into  whose  mouth  Shakespeare  put  the  words 
they  cite  in  support  of  their  contentions.  That  he  intended 
all  of  his  characters  to  be  speakers  of  correct  English  is 
inconceivable,  and,  therefore,  most  of  the  passages  in  his 
writings  which  are  of  doubtful  construction  may  have  been 
written  deliberately.  It  is  equally  unfortunate  for  the 
advocates  of  the  phonetic  forms  of  English  spelling  that 
another  class  of  persons  fondly  cherishes  the  belief  that  the 
spellings  used  in  the  modern  editions  of  Shakespeare's 
works  are  identical  in  form  with  those  which  the  great 
writer  used.  The  slogan  of  this  class  of  persons  is  *'the 
spelling  of  Shakespeare  is  good  enough  for  us!"  Little 
do  they  know  of  this  spelling.  Possibly,  very  few  of  them 
have  heard  that  the  dramatist  spelled  his  name  in  no  less 
than  sixteen  different  ways. 

William  Shakespeare  was  born  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  in 
Warwickshire,  England,  in  April,  1564.  The  day  of  Shake- 
speare's birth  is  unknown.  There  is  an  inscription  on  his 
monument  that  states  he  died  on  April  23  (new  style, 
May  3),  1616,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age.  Accord- 
ingly, tradition  has  fixed  on  April  23rd  as  the  day  of  his 
birth,  and  if  he  became  fifty-two  on  the  day  of  his  death  he 
may  have  been  correctly  described  on  his  monument  as  in 
the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age. 

On  Wednesday,  April  26,  or,  according  to  the  new  style, 
May  6, 1564,  at  Stratford-on-Avon  was  baptized  ''Gulielmus 
filius  Johannes  Shakspere."  The  plague  had  spread  to 
Stratford,  but  had  spared  the  home  of  John  Shakespeare. 
Knight  tells  us  that  from  June  30th  to  December  31st,  two 


100  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

hundred  and   thirty-eight   persons,   one-ninth   of  the  in- 
habitants of  Stratford,  were  carried  to  the  grave. 

William  Shakespeare  probably  entered  the  free  grammar 
school  of  his  native  town  in  1571,  and  there  received  some 
training  in  the  Latin  language  and  literature,  which  proved 
of  immense  service  to  him  in  later  life.  Family  reverses 
caused  his  removal  from  school  at  an  early  age,  and  when 
but  thirteen  years  old  he  "exercised  his  father's  trade," 
which,  according  to  Aubrey,  was  that  of  a  butcher.  When 
he  attained  the  age  of  eighteen,  Shakespeare  married  Anne, 
the  daughter  of  Richard  Hathaway,  a  yeoman  who  dwelt  at 
Shottery,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Stratford.  Anne  Hath- 
away was  eight  years  older  than  Shakespeare.  Early  in 
1585  she  bore  him  twins,  a  son  named  Hamnet  and  a 
daughter  named  Judith,  who  were  both  baptized  on  Feb- 
ruary 2nd.  Later  in  that  year  Shakespeare  left  Stratford, 
and  for  the  next  eleven  years  saw  very  little  of  his  family. 
He  set  out  for  London,  which  he  reached  in  1586,  but 
what  he  did  for  a  living  when  he  first  reached  there  is  not 
positively  known.  Tradition  has  it  that  he  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship with  a  printer  named  Vautrollier;  that  he 
secured  a  position  as  a  lawyer's  clerk;  that  he  held  horses 
for  men  of  fashion  who  attended  the  theater  owned  by 
James  Burbage,  who  himself  kept  a  livery  stable  at  Smith- 
field.  Of  the  three  means  of  securing  a  livelihood,  possibly 
the  last  was  the  one  which  Shakespeare  adopted,  as  it  led 
to  his  appointment  as  call-boy  and,  subsequently,  to  the  office 
of  deputy-prompter.  That  he  prospered  at  whatever  call- 
ing he  followed  is  known  from  the  fact  that  in  1589  he 
owned  a  share  in  the  Blackfriars  Theater,  where  he  not 
only  adapted  old  plays,  but  produced  new  ones,  and  even 
took  part  in  them.    Fortune  continued  to  favor  him,  and 


ENGLISH:    ITS.  GROWTH  101 

he  became  part-owner  of  the  Globe  Theater.  During  this 
time  he  took  part  in  Ben  Jonson's  "Every  Man  in  His 
Humour,"  and  also  acted  in  his  own  plays,  taking  such 
parts  as  the  Ghost  in  "Hamlet,"  and  Adam  in  "As  You 
Like  It."  Although  a  fair  actor,  he  was  a  better  manager, 
and  at  one  time  derived  a  yearly  income  from  his  various 
interests  which  would  amount  to  $7,500  in  our  own  coin. 
Fortunately  for  him,  he  soon  found  out  that  he  could  make 
more  money  as  a  playwright  than  as  a  performer,  and  he 
devoted  twenty  years  of  his  life  to  writing. 

Between  his  twenty-seventh  and  his  forty-seventh  years 
he  produced  all  of  his  plays.  His  poem,  "Venus  and 
Adonis,"  published  in  1593,  secured  for  him  a  greater  share 
of  public  attention  than  his  earlier  plays.  Queen  Eliza- 
beth signaled  him  out  for  special  favor,  and  thenceforward 
he  moved  among  the  most  cultivated  men  of  his  time.  After 
the  Queen's  death  he  continued  in  royal  favor,  and  James 
I.  is  said  to  have  exceeded  Elizabeth  in  his  appreciation  of 
the  dramatist. 

The  closing  years  of  Shakespeare's  life  (1611-1616)  were 
spent  at  Stratford-on-Avon.  He  sold  his  shares  in  the 
Blackfriars  and  the  Globe  theaters  in  1611,  and  retired  to 
Stratford,  where  he  settled  in  New  Place.  He  took  part  in 
the  public  life  of  his  native  town,  sharing  both  its  civic  and 
social  responsibilities.  In  the  spring  of  1616  he  entertained 
his  old  friends,  Ben  Jonson  and  Michael  Drayton,  at  Now 
Place,  where  they  had  "a  merry  meeting."  He  died  of  a 
fever  contracted  at  this  time,  but  the  exact  cause  of  his 
death  has  not  been  determined.  On  April  25,  1616,  lie  was 
laid  to  rest  near  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel  in  Stratford 
Church. 

It  is  said  that  he  was  the  author  of  his  own  epitaph, 


102  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

which  he  wrote  from  the  fear  that  after  death  his  bones 
would  be  disinterred  and  thrown  into  the  charnel-house 
hard  by  the  church.  The  curse  pronounced  he  thought 
would  prove  an  effective  check  to  the  disturbance  of  his 
remains. 

"Good  frend  for  Jesus'  sake  forbears 
To  digg  the  dust  eneloased  heare: 
Blest  be  ye  man  yt  spares  thes  stones, 
And  curst  be  he  yt  moves  my  bones." 

There  is  no  question  that  Shakespeare  is  the  greatest  of 
the  English  poets  as  well  as  the  greatest  of  our  dramatists. 
As  Dr.  Craik  has  expressed  it,  "his  sympathy  is  the  most 
universal,  his  imagination  the  most  plastic,  his  diction  the 
most  expressive,  ever  given  to  any  writer.  His  poetry  has 
in  itself  the  power  and  varied  excellences  of  all  other  poetry. 
While  in  grandeur,  and  beauty,  and  passion,  and  sweetest 
music,  and  all  the  other  higher  gifts  of  song,  he  may  be 
ranked  with  the  greatest — with  Spenser,  and  Chaucer,  and 
Milton,  and  Dante,  and  Homer — he  is  at  the  same  time  more 
nervous  than  Dryden,  and  more  sententious  than  Pope,  and 
more  sparkling  and  of  more  abounding  conceit,  when  he 
chooses,  than  Donne,  or  Cowley,  or  Butler.  In  whose  hand- 
ling was  language  ever  such  a  flame  of  fire  as  it  is  in  his? 
His  wonderful  potency  in  the  use  of  this  instrument  would 
alone  set  him  above  all  other  writers.-^"^  Language  has  been 

'w  Whatever  may  be  the  extent  of  the  vocabulary  of  the  English  language,  it 
is  certain  that  the  most  copious  writer  has  not  employed  more  than  a  fraction 
of  the  entire  number  of  words  of  which  it  consists.  It  has  been  stated  that 
some  inquiries  set  on  foot  by  the  telegraph  companies  have  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  number  of  words  in  ordinary  use  does  not  exceed  3,000.  A 
rouch  calculation,  founded  on  Mrs.  Clarke's  Concordance,  gives  about  21,000 
as  the  number  of  words  to  be  found  in  the  plays  of  Shakespeare,  without  count- 
in?  inflectional  forms  as  distinct  words.  Probably  the  vocabulary  of  no  other  of 
our  frreat  writers  is  nearly  so  extrnsive.  Todd's  "Verbal  Index"  would  not  give 
us  more  than  about  7.000  for  Milton ;  so  that,  if  we  were  to  add  even  50 
per  cent,  to  compensate  for  Milton's  inferior  voluminousness,  the  Miltonic 
vocabulary  would  still  be  not  more  than  half  as  copious  as  the  Shakespearian. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GKOWTH 


103 


Tie  Life <f  K^Hemy  the Bght, 


"? 


VW.  S»ratt«tU,teih«tintcgoodyoubc*(cme. 
Farrwtlir  A  long  furwcH  lo  all  my  Crtacoeflic. 
Thi«  i>  the  ftitc  ofMan  i  to  day  h«  pun  forth 
The  tender  Lcaun  of  hope*,  to  monew  BIoCToomt, 
And  betrei  hit  blufhbgHonota  ihiche  vpon  himt 
The  third  day,  comei  I  Ffcfl  1 3  kil&ng  t=rolK 
And  «hai  be  ibinkea,  good  eaCc  iMa,(iiU  (urdy 
Hi*  Gtetineffe  i»  t  npetiing.ofppei  hi>  roott. 
And  chcnhcfiliul  do.    1  haoe  vcniui'd 
Like  lidlc  wanton  Boyei  that  r«>nt  on  bladdCTl  I 
Thii  many  Summen  in  a  Sea  of  Glory, 
But  fuftbtjrondffiy  depib:  my  bigS-blowme  Pride 
At  length  broke  vnder  me,  and  now  ha*«  left  me 
Weaty.and  old  v>iih  Sttuite,  to  the  mercy 
Oft  rude  n'came,thaiiTtuAfoi  ever  hide  me. 
Viior  pompe,  and  glory  of  ihii  World.  I  hate  ye, 

I  feele  tny  hca'i  new  open'd.  Oh  how  wretched 

II  that  poore  man,  thai  hinjtonPuncrifauoara? 
There  ii  b^iwiat  that  fmilc  we  woutd  al'pire  loo, 
Th«t  fwee<  Afpcft  of  Prineet,  and  then  niioe. 
More pangi,  and  fearei  then  wirret,  <w  womeo  htiK  i 
And  whenhe  fallet.he  fallei  lihc  Ludfti, 

NciUT  to  hope  agtine. 

Why  how  now  [rtmmtU7 

Civnt,  1  blue  no  powa  to  Tpeikc  iif. 

C«r.  What.tmaid 
Ai  m  y  misfornmet  'CanthySptm  wonder 
Ag'ot  man  IWilddcclmr,  Nay,and;ou  we^ 
I  inifjlne  indeed. 

Cram    How  doetyoui  Ctaet. 

Cfi.  Why  well: 
Neuei  foi'ulr  KipfyiBiygoodOiXBirrJ. 
I  know  my  felfen*w,  and  I  feele  within  me, 
Apeauaboueall  caiihlyDignHm. 
A  Bill.and  quiet  Confctente.  The  Km j  \t\  cur'd  me, 
I  humbly  thankc  bii  Grace  .  and  fromthcfeO^owldcrt 
Theft  njin*d  PilleT^,out  of  p -try,  taken 
A  lotdf .  would  finke  a  Niuy.  (too  iwRb  Honor  ) 

0  tit  a  burden  Cr-fvvt/.  tiiaburdeo 
Tooheauy  for  im»n,  ihit  hopei  fo«Hfauet>. 

Crm.  1  am  glad  your  Grace, 
Ha  I  rT>t6f  thai  nghi  Tfrofit. 
Card,    I  hope  1  hauri 

1  am  able  now  ^mr  ihtoke*) 

(0«i  ofi  Foitnudr  of  Soule,  I  ferlr) 

To  endure  more  Miferici,  tnd  gfeurr  farre 

T^en  fT>y  Weikc  Neancd  £nfmifi,tJ are  offer., 

WKiiNfwciibrotdr 

Ctim.   Tf'c  hctgitrt.and  tSe  vtorfl, 
ltyov;r  drplcafvirr  •i.iihthc  King. 

Cjii    Cod  blelle  hmv. 

C"m.  The  neit  ii.thttSir  TJvnd/.VavrlschoCta 
Lord  Chancellor .  in  your  place 

C^i.  That  I  romcwhti  fodito 
Bur  he'i  a  Learned  rrkan.  Miyhecominoe 
Lorg  in  hiiHtghoclTr  fauour,  tt^  do  IoAjcv 
Tot  Traihvftkt.ind  bii  Confcirntei  ihaihiibonet. 
When  he  ht't  run  his  courfe.artd  flrrpet  inBie^ingi, 
\(ay  haveaTombeefOrphaniiKarei  wfptoof»m. 
What  more* 

Cn-n.  That  Cr«nnrr  it  reium'd  with  wekotTie  I 
InRalPd  Lord  Arrh-byOvop  orCanirrbwy. 


C*d.  ThafiNewei  indeed. 

Crtm.  Laft,  thai  the  Lady  Am>i, 
Whom  the  King  hath  lO  ^reci^  long  married, 
Thii  day  w  at  Tiew  d  in  opcrt,  ti  hii  Queenc, 
Going  to  Chappell  i  and  the  •  oycc  ii  now 
Onely  tboot  bri  Corroturioru 

CirA   There wat ihewaighttbatpuirdmedowT\«. 

The  King  ha'i  gone  beyond  mc  i  All  my  Gloria 

In  thii  ofw  woman,  I  ruueloA  fct  eucr. 

No  Son ,  IJmII  eoer  Tftieeforth  nrtiK  Heooet, 

Ot  giltk  againc  the  Noble  Troopei  that  weighted 

Vpon  my  fmilev  Co  get  thee  from  ine  Crvrnml, 

I  am  a  poore  falne  man,  Tnwonhy  now 

Tobethy  Loid,andJilafter.  Sceke the Xmo 

(That  Son,  I  pray  iiiey  oeuer  fet)  I  haue  told  hm, 

What,  and  how  itue  thou  art  i  he  will  aduance  tfaet : 

Some  111  tit  memoir  of  me,  wiU  flirre  biin 

(I  know  hitNobleNttute)  not  to  let 

Thy  bopefull  Icruire  periOi  too..  Good  Cnmwvll 

Negled  him  not  i  nulce  vfe  now,  tad  prowde 

For  thmeowse  future  fafety 

Crom.  O  my  Lord, 
Mufl  I  then  leaue  you  r  Mufl  I  needet  forgo 
So  good.  foNoble,  andfoir\jeaM<r>rr  ( 
Brace  wuneffe,  all  that  hsuc  not  beam  of  Iron, 
Wtih  what  I  fotrow  Crcmvil  leaoei  hi»  Lord. 
The  King  dull  haoc  my  feruict  i  but'my  prayrei 
For  cser,  and  foi  eutr  Cfvill  be  youri. 

Cvi.  Crmtmti,  I  did  not  ihinke  to  (hti  t  trate 
In  all  my  MiOrlei :  But  tho«  hafl  forr'd  me 
(Out  of  thy  Koneft  inith)  to  play  the  Woman. 
Lett  dfy  our  eyei  i  And  thui  (tnt  hcare  me  Crvtntt, 
Ar»d*hen  I  tm  foegctien,as  1  OiaJlbc, 
And  Occpe  In  dull  cold  Marble,  where  no  mentioo 
Ofme.moremufl  beheirdof :  Sayl  itoghtihee; 
S»y  "'•//r?,  that  once  itod  the  wiyci  ofClory, 
And  founded  all  iheDeptht.and  ShoaleaofHonor, 
Pound  thee  a  wiy  (out  of  hli  wrackr)io  rife  In : 
A  fure,  and  hit  one,  rhough  thy  hftficr  mill  it. 
Mirkr  but  myTill,  and  thai  that  Ruln'd  ine  ; 
Ovmrnt,  Ichtrgethee,  fling  twiy  Ambirioo, 
Bythti  (innefell  the  Angrli :  how  can  man  then 
(The  Image  of  hii  Mikrt)hope  to  win  by  it  ? 
Loueihy  frlftl«ft,ehetil>nhoff  heirti  ihat  h$i«  thee. 
Corruption  wini  Dot  more  then  HoneOy. 
Still  in  thy  right  hand,  cany  gentle  Peart 
To  filetue  cnuioui  Tongoei     Be  iud  and  fearr  nee  i 
Let  all  the  rndi  ihou  jymft  at,  beihy  Countriei, 
ThyCodi.and  Trtuhj.  Then  if  thou  fall  fl(0  Crtmiwr/) 
Thou  f.llrt  •  bIclTcd  Martyr. 
Serue  the  King  :  And  ptytbee  leide  me  lO : 
There  like  an  Inoentory  of  ill  |  hiue , 
TotheliHpeny.'tutheKingi    hfy  Robe, 
And  my  Inirgrny  to  Hraurn,  ij  ill, 
I  dart  now  cjll  mine  owne.  O  Crmivrl,  Crcnivtt, 
Hid  I  but  feru'd  my  God.  with  hilfe  tht  Zeale 
I  frtu'd  my  King  .  he  would  not  in  mine  A^e 
Hauelrfi  me  naked  lomincEoemici. 

C^om,  Good  Sir,  haue  ptnence. 

C^rL  So  I  haue.  Puewell 
The  Hopci  of  Couii,  my  Hopes  in  Heiueo  do  dwelt 


104  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

called  the  costiime  of  thought;  it  is  such  a  costume  as 
leaves  are  to  the  tree  or  blossoms  to  the  flower,  and  grows 
out  of  what  it  adorns.  Every  great  and  original  writer 
accordingly  has  distinguished,  and  as  it  were  individualized, 
himself  as  much  by  his  diction  as  by  even  the  sentiment 
which  it  embodies ;  and  the  invention  of  such  a  distinguish- 
ing style  is  one  of  the  most  unequivocal  evidences  of  genius. 
But  Shakespeare  has  invented  twenty  styles.  He  has  a  style 
for  every  one  of  his  great  characters,  by  which  that  char- 
acter is  distinguished  from  every  other  as  much  as  Poe  is 
distinguished  by  his  style  from  Dry  den,  or  Milton  from 
Spenser.  And  yet  all  the  while  it  is  he  himself  with  his 
own  peculiar  accent  that  we  hear  in  every  one  of  them."^"^ 

But  even  so  great  a  man  could  not  escape  the  gibes  and 
sneers  of  his  less  successful  contemporaries.  In  1592  in  his 
' ' Groatsworth  of  Wit,"  Robert  Greene  thus  described  him: 

"There  is  an  upstart  crow,  beautified  Avith  our  feathers,  that, 
with  his  tiger's  heart  wrapt  in  a  pla.yer's  hide,  supposes  he  is 
as  well  able  to  bombast  out  a  blank  verse  as  the  best  of  you; 
and,  being  an  absolute  Johannes  Factotum,  is,  in  his  own  conceit, 
the  only  Shake-scene  in  a  country." 

In  later  years  Dryden  decried  him,  and  James  Thomson 
dubbed  bim,  'Svild  Shakespeare"  in  "The  Season's  Sum- 
mer"— "Is  not  wild  Shakespeare  thine  and  Nature's 
boast?" 

On  page  103  is  shown  a  photographic  reproduction  from 
the  First  Folio  Edition  of  Henry  VIII.,  act  iii,  scene  2. 
and  it  consists  of  Cardinal  Wolsey's  "Soliloquy  upon  his 
Fall."  It  afiPords  a  good  illustration  of  that  orthography 
which  many  of  the  opponents  of  spelling  reform  love  to  fall 

"'  "English  Literature,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.   591,  592. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  105 

back  upon  -when  they  say — '^'The  spelling  of  Shakespeare 
(and  of  Milton)  is  good  enough  for  me." 

Benjamin  Jonson,  or  as  he  was  familiarly  called  in  his 
own  time  and  commonly  so  since,  Ben  Jonson,  was  the  son 
of  a  clergyman.  He  was  born  in  1572  or  1573,  and  was  a 
direct  .descendant  of  the  Johnstones  of  Annandale,  whence 
his  grandfather  set  out  for  and  settled  in  Carlisle.  A  few 
days  after  Ben  Jonson 's  birth  his  father  died;  his  mother 
married  again — this  time  to  a  master  bricklayer.  In  those 
days  the  bricklayer  was  a  craftsman,  and  the  lesser  clergy 
ranked  as  the  equals  of  only  tradesmen  and  servants.  The 
paternal  home  was  situated  in  Hartshorn  Lane,  near  Char- 
ing Cross,  and  there  Jonson  was,  as  he  expressed  it,  ''poorly 
brought  up."  At  first  he  attended  the  parish  school  of 
St.  Martins-in-the-Fields  close  by,  but  shortly  afterward, 
at  the  instance  of  one  William  Camden,  who  then  was  second 
master  of  Westminster  school,  and  who  undertook  to  bear 
the  expenses  of  his  schooling,  he  entered  the  latter  insti- 
tution. There  he  proved  himself  an  apt  pupil,  but  was 
not  permitted  to  continue  his  studies  any  length  of  time, 
being  taken  from  school  and  put  to  learn  his  stepfather's 
trade.  Jonson  found  this  occupation  intolerable  and  ran 
away  from  home.  He  escaped  to  Flanders,  where  he  en- 
listed with  the  English  troops  then  engaged  in  fighting  the 
Spaniards.  The  rough  life  which  he  was  forced  to  lead  as 
a  soldier  left  a  permanent  mark  on  his  character  and  habits. 
Loud  of  voice,  boastful,  and  boorish,  he  was  ill-fitted  to 
mingle  with  the  dapper  courtiers  in  attendance  upon  Queen 
Elizabeth  and  King  James  I.,  yet  after  he  had  forsaken 
the  trowel  and  the  pike  he  took  up  the  pen  and  almost  im- 
mediately sprang  into  fame.  In  1595  he  began  to  work 
for  the  stage,  driven  thither  perhaps  by  poverty,  perhaps 


106  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

because  of  an  unhappy  marriage,  but  more  probably  be- 
cause of  natural  bent.  He  was  both  player  and  playwright 
in  1597,  and  in  1598  gave  to  the  world  "Every  Man  in 
his  Humour, ' '  which  is  classed  as  one  of  our  finest  comedies 
to-day,  and  which  immediately  placed  him  in  the  foremost 
rank  of  the  dramatists  of  his  time.  This  was  followed  by 
''The  Case  is  Altered,"  which  was  staged  in  1599.  In  the 
same  year  he  produced  a  tragedy,  **  Robert  II.,  King  of 
Scots,"  in  collaboration  with  Dekker,  Chettle  and  one  other 
' '  jentellmen, ' '  and  ' '  Every  Man  out  of  his  Humour, '  *  which 
by  special  command  was  played  before  Queen  Elizabeth. 

Jonson,  as  a  dramatist,  reached  the  highest  point  in  his 
career  during  the  first  half  of  James's  reign.  By  the  year 
1616  he  had  written  all  the  plays  worthy  of  his  pen.  The 
tragedy  "Catiline"  appeared  in  1611,  but  met  with  in- 
different success.  Then  followed  his  comedies  "Volpone  or 
the  Fox,"  produced  in  1605;  "Epicoene  or  The  Silent 
Woman"  (1609)  ;  "The  Alchemist"  (1610)  ;  "Bartholomew 
Fair"  (1614)  ;  and  "The  Devil  is  an  Ass"  (1616).  The 
composition  of  court  masks  occupied  a  part  of  this  time. 
For  some  time  thereafter  he  gave  himself  up  to  holiday- 
making,  but  in  1621  produced  "Gipsies  Metamorphosed," 
which  was  so  well  received  by  the  King,  before  whom  it  was 
presented  on  three  occasions,  that  he  granted  him  "the 
reversion  of  the  office  of  master  of  the  revels,  "^"^  and  would 
have  conferred  upon  him  the  honor  of  knighthood  but  for 
Jonson 's  respectful  declination. 

Jonson 's  tragedies  are  eloquent,  stately,  and  poetical.  He 
avoided  the  looseness  of  fancy  which  characterized  much 
of  the  work  of  his  contemporaries  that  degenerated  into 
licentiousness.     He  wrote  for  men  of  sense  and  knowledge. 

^0'  "Encyc.   Brit.,"  XIII,  s.v.   "Jonson." 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  10? 

Of  his  prose  work  one  piece,  which  has  been  preserved  to 
us,  may  be  cited  as  particularly  suited  to  a  work  of  this 
kind. 

Language  most  shews  a  man;  speak,  that  I  may  see  thee. 
It  springs  out  of  the  most  retired  and  inmost  parts  of  us,  and 
is  the  image  of  the  parent  of  it,  the  mind.  No  glass  renders  a 
man's  form  or  likeness  so  true,  as  his  speech.  Nay,  it  is  likened 
to  a  man ;  and  as  we  consider  feature  and  composition  in  a  man, 
so  words  in  language ;  in  the  greatness,  aptness,  sound,  structure, 
and  harmony  of  it.  Some  men  are  tall  and  big;  so  some  lan- 
guage is  high  and  great.  Then  the  words  are  chosen,  the  sound 
ample,  the  composition  full,  the  absolution  plenteous,  and  poured 
out,  all  grace,  sinewy  and  strong.  Some  are  little  and  dwarfs; 
so  of  speech,  it  is  humble  and  low ;  the  words  poor  and  flat ;  the 
members  and  periods  thin  and  weak,  without  knitting  or  number. 
The  middle  are  of  a  just  stature.  There  the  language  is  plain 
and  pleasing:  even  without  stopping,  round  without  swelling; 
all  well  turned,  composed,  elegant,  and  accurate.  The  vicious 
language  is  vast  and  gaping;  swelling  and  irregTilar;  when  it 
contends,  high,  full  of  rock,  mountain  and  pointedness;  as  it 
affects  to  be  low,  it  is  abject  and  creeps,  full  of  bogs  and  holes. 
And  according  to  their  subject  these  styles  vary,  and  lose  their 
names;  for  that  which  is  high  and  lofty,  declaring  excellent 
matter,  becomes  vast  and  tumorous,  speaking  of  petty  and 
inferior  things;  so  that  which  was  even  and  apt,  in  a  mean  and 
plain  sul^'ect,  will  appear  most  poor  and  humble  in  a  high 
argument. 

The  next  thing  to  the  stature,  is  the  figure  and  feature  of 
language;  that  is,  whether  it  be  round  and  straight,  which  con- 
sists of  short  and  succinct  periods,  numerous  and  polished,  or 
square  and  firm,  which  is  to  have  equal  and  strong  parts,  every 
thing  answerable,  and  weighed. 

The  third  is  the  skin  and  coat,  which  rests  in  the  well  joining. 
cementing,  and  coagmentation  of  words;  when  as  it  is  smooth, 
gentle,  and  sweet;  like  a  table  upon  which  you  may  run  your 
finger  without  rubs,  and  your  nails  can  not  find  a  joint,  nor 
horrid,  rough,  wrinkled,  gaping,  and  chapt;  after  these,  the  flosli. 


108  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

blood,  and  bones  come  in  question.  We  say  it  is  a  fleshy  style, 
when  there  is  much  periphrasis,  and  circuit  of  words ;  and  when 
with  more  than  enough  it  grows  fat  and  corpulent.  It  hath 
blood  and  juice,  when  the  words  are  proper  and  apt,  their  sound 
sweet,  and  the  phrases  neat  and  picked.  There  be  some  styles 
again  that  are  bony  and  sinewy.  .    .    . 

As  old  age  crept  upon  him  Jonson,  in  receipt  of  a  meager 
salary  irregularly  paid,  and  beset  with  debt,  became  a  prey 
to  paralysis.  For  the  very  necessaries  of  life  he  was  com- 
pelled to  write  begging  letters  to  his  affluent  noble  friends. 
Life  slowly  ebbed  until  August  6,  1637,  when  he  died,  and 
three  days  later  was  buried  in  "Westminster  Abbey,  where 
a  square,  time-worn  tablet  bearing  the  words  **0  Rare  Ben 
Jonson"  marks  his  last  resting-place. 

OTHER  WRITERS 

Another  soldier  who  won  fame  with  the  pen  was  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  better  known,  perhaps,  for  his  achieve- 
ments at  sea  than  on  land.  He  was  born  at  Hayes  in  Devon- 
shire, England,  in  1552,  and  after  a  brief  sojourn  at  Oriel 
College,  Oxford,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  French  Protes- 
tants, enlisting  in  the  Huguenots'  army  in  1569.  For  the 
next  five  years  he  followed  the  calling  of  a  soldier,  l»ut  found 
time  to  study  seamanship,  in  which  he  became  so  proficient 
as  to  be  created  vice-admiral.  His  achievements  in  Ireland 
— whither  he  was  sent  to  subdue  the  rebellious  people,  whom 
he  butchered  in  cold  blood  as  if  they  were  wild  beasts — 
although  they  did  not  reflect  credit  upon  him  as  a  humane 
commander,  brought  him  to  the  attention  of  Queen  Eliza' 
beth,  and  he  received  special  licenses  to  export  wool  and  to 
sell  wine.  For  some  years  thereafter  he  shone  as  a  courtier 
and  obtained  various  offices,  as  the  posts  of  lord-warden  of 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  109 

the  Stannaries,  and  vice-admiral  of  Devon  and  Cornwall. 
In  addition  he  received  a  charter  to  develop  and  colonize 
Virginia,  and  spent  more  than  £40,000  in  the  venture,  which 
did  not  prove  a  success.  Twice  he  sent  out  expeditions  to 
achieve  this;  the  first  settlers  retired  discouraged,  taking 
refuge  on  Drake's  ships,  but  bringing  back  with  them  to- 
bacco and  the  potato^"*  as  the  only  fruits  of  the  enter- 
prise; the  second  batch  was  either  exterminated  by  the 
natives  or  assimilated  with  them. 

But  we  are  not  concerned  so  much  with  Raleigh 's  achieve- 
ments as  an  adventurous  courtier,  soldier,  and  seaman,  as 
with  the  great  work  he  began  to  write  when  confined  in  the 
Tower  of  London  on  a  questionable  charge  of  treason.  For 
thirteen  years  he  suffered  solitary  confinement,  and  these 
years  he  devoted  to  making  experiments  in  chemistry  and 
in  writing  a  ''History  of  the  World" — a  work  which  he  was 
unable  to  complete.  Beginning  with  the  creation,  Raleigh 
brought  his  achievement  down  to  the  second  Macedonian 
war.  Then  followed  his  release  and  dispatch  with  a 
squadron  of  fourteen  ships  on  an  expedition  to  replenish 
a  penniless  King's  treasury.  He  captured  St.  Thomas, 
obtained  only  two  bars  of  gold,  and  suffering  from  ill-health, 
with  * '  brains  broken, ' '  he  set  sail  for  home.  On  landing  at 
Plymouth  he  was  arrested,  taken  to  London,  and  on  October 
29,  1618,  was  sent  to  the  block  on  the  charge  of  treason  that 
still  hung  over  him.  With  what  composure  he  advanced 
toward  the  block  and  faced  death  may  be  seen  from  his 
last  words  as  he  felt  the  edge  of  the  ax  which  was  to  sever 
his  head  from  his  body — "This  is  a  sharp  medicine,  but  it 
will  cure  all  diseases." 

""The  introduction  and  cultivation  of  the  potato  in  Ireland  were  due  to 
Raleigh,  who  assigned  a  part  of  his  estates  there  to  its  cultivation. 


110  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Raleigh's  "History  of  the  "World"  is  remarkable  for  its 
spirited  narrative,  eloquence,  deep  learning,  profound 
philosophy,  and  devout  sentiment.  It  is  east  in  an  antique 
mold  and  stamped  with  melancholy,  due,  no  doubt,  to  the 
somber  surroundings  of  his  prison  chamber.  To  the  student 
of  English  it  is  notable  as  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
the  quaint  and  stately  old  English  style. 

Raleigh  wrote  in  addition  ''A  Narrative  of  a  Cruise  to 
Guiana,"  and  a  number  of  political  pamphlets.  He  was 
also  author  of  pleasing  poetry  which  won  for  him  the  praise 
of  Edmund  Spenser,  by  whom  he  was  called  the  ''Summer 
Nightingale."  As  a  man  he  was  master  of  the  art  and 
finesse  of  the  courtier,  and  as  a  seaman,  soldier,  and  states- 
man he  stood  preeminent  at  a  time  prolific  of  famous  men. 

The  following  extract  is  from  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 's  Essay 
on  "The  Sceptic."  It  is  quoted  from  Oldys  and  Birch's 
edition  of  the  "Works  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh"  (Vol.  VII, 
pp.  553-54),  published  by  the  Oxford  University  Press 
in  1829. 

It  is  evident  also  that  men  differ  very  much  in  the  tem- 
perature of  their  bodies,  else  why  should  some  more  easily 
digest  beef  than  shell-fish  ?  and  others  be  mad  for  the  time,  if 
they  drink  wine?  There  was  an  old  woman  about  Arbeus, 
which  drank  three  drams  of  cicuta  (every  dram  weighing  sixty 
barleycorns,  and  eight  drams  to  an  ounce)  without  hurt.  Lysis, 
Avithout  hurt,  took  four  drams  of  poppy;  and  Demothon,  which 
was  gentleman-sewer  to  Alexander,  was  very  cold  when  he 
stood  in  the  sun,  or  in  a  hot  bath,  but  very  hot  when  he  stood 
in  the  shade.  Athenagoras  felt  no  pain  if  a  scorpion  stung 
him.  And  the  Psilli  (a  people  in  Libya,  whose  bodies  are 
venom  to  serpents),  if  they  be  stung  by  serpents  or  asps, 
receive  no  hurt  at  all. 

The  Ethiopians,  which  inhabit  the  river  Hydaspis,  do  eat 
serpents  and  scorpions  without  danger.     Lothericus,  a  surgeon. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  HI 

at  the  smell  of  a  sturgeon  would  be  for  the  time  mad.  Andron 
of  Argos  was  so  little  thirsty,  that  without  want  of  drink  he 
travelled  through  the  hot  and  dry  country  of  Libya.  Tiberius 
Cassar  would  see  very  well  in  the  dark.  Aristotle  mentioneth 
of  Thratius,  who  said,  that  the  image  of  a  man  went  always 
before  him. 

If  then  it  be  so,  that  there  be  such  differences  in  men,  this 
must  be  by  reason  of  the  diverse  temperatures  they  have,  and 
diverse  dispositions  of  their  conceit  and  imagination ;  for  if  one 
hate  and  another  love  the  very  same  thing,  it  must  be  that 
their  phantasies  differ,  else  all  would  love  it,  or  all  would  hate 
it.  These  men  then  may  tell  how  these  things  seem  to  them 
good  or  bad;  but  what  they  are  in  their  own  nature  they 
cannot  tell. 

If  we  will  hearken  to  men's  opinions  concerning  one  and  the 
same  matter,  thinking  thereby  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  it, 
we  shall  find  this  to  be  impossible;  for  either  we  must  believe 
what  all  men  say  of  it,  or  what  some  men  only  say  of  it.  To 
believe  what  all  men  say  of  one  and  the  same  thing  is  not 
possible;  for  then  we  shall  believe  contrarieties;  for  some  men 
say  that  that  very  thing  is  pleasant,  which  others  say  is  dis- 
pleasant.  If  it  be  said  we  must  believe  only  some  men,  then 
let  it  be  shewed  who  those  men  are;  for  the  Platonists  will 
believe  Plato,  but  the  Epicures  Epicurus,  the  Pythagoreans 
Pythagoras,  and  other  philosophers  the  masters  of  their  own 
sects;  so  that  it  is  doubtful  to  which  of  all  these  we  shall  give 
credit.  If  it  be  said  we  must  credit  the  greatest  number,  this 
seemeth  childish ;  for  there  may  be  amongst  other  nations  a 
greater  number  which  deny  that  very  point,  which  the  greatest 
number  with  us  do  affirm;  so  that  hereof  nothing  can  certainly 
be  affirmed. 

Francis  Bacon,  the  youngest  son  of  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon, 
Lord  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  was  born  at 
York  House  in  the  Strand,  London,  January  22,  1561.  He 
achieved  great  distinction  as  a  lawyer,  but  far  greater 
renown  as  a  philosopher  and  essayist.    In  the  law  he  rose 


112  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

step  by  step  from  Queen 's  Counsel  to  Lord  High  Chancellor 
of  England,  with  the  title  of  Baron  Verulam,  and  ulti- 
mately became  Viscount  St.  Albans.  But  the  splendor  of 
his  career  was  dimmed  by  accusations  of  bribery  and  cor- 
ruption. He  was  impeached,  tried,  convicted,  fined  and 
imprisoned  in  the  Tower  of  London  for  two  days,  then  set 
free  a  disgraced  and  broken  man.  But  the  world  is  quick 
to  forget,  and  it  forgot  his  frailties  in  remembering  the 
great  service  he  did  to  the  language  and  literature  of  his 
native  land  by  producing  his  inimitable  "Essays"  first  pub- 
lished in  1597,  and  his  famous  Novum  Organum,  which  ap- 
peared in  1620.  Of  him  Ben  Jonson,  his  contemporary, 
wrote :  ' '  There  happened  in  my  time  one  noble  speaker  who 
was  full  of  gravity  in  his  speaking.  His  language,  where 
he  could  spare  or  pass  by  a  jest,  was  nobly  censorious.  No 
man  ever  spoke  more  neatly,  more  pressly,  more  weightily, 
or  suffered  less  emptiness,  less  idleness  in  what  he  uttered. 
...  I  have  and  do  reverence  him  for  the  greatness  that 
was  only  proper  to  himself,  in  that  he  seemed  to  me  ever, 
by  his  work,  one  of  the  greatest  men  and  most  worthy  of 
admiration  that  had  been  in  many  ages." 

Bacon's  "Essays"  are  examples  of  the  finest  work  ever 
done  in  English  prose,  and  as  such  place  him  in  the  first 
rank  of  the  English  Classics.  It  is  due  as  much  to  the 
excellence  of  their  style  as  to  the  interesting  character  of 
the  subjects  of  which  they  treat  that  Bacon's  "Essays"  are 
read  more  generally  than  any  other  of  his  works.  So  highly 
were  these  essays  esteemed  by  Hallam  that  he  declared 
it  "would  be  derogatory  to  a  man  of  the  slightest  claim 
to  polite  letters,  were  he  unacquainted  with  the  'Essays'  of 
Bacon." 

The  "Essays"  were  followed  by  a  treatise  on  the  "Ad- 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  113 

vancement  of  Learning,"  a  work  written  in  English  and 
issued  in  1605.  This  was  the  forerunner  of  a  far  greater 
undertaking  styled  ' ' Instauratio  Magna."  In  this  work 
Bacon  aimed  to  produce  an  analytical  classification  of  all 
phases  of  human  knowledge,  and  to  provide  a  system  of 
logic  which  would  supply  certain  deficiencies  of  the  Aris- 
totelian system.  As  originally  planned,  the  work  was 
divided  into  six  parts: 

Part  I.  De  Augmentis  Scientiarum:  This  consists  of  a  sum- 
mary of  human  knowledge,  as  embraced  by  his  "Advancement 
of  Learning,"  but  deals  with  the  undeveloped  condition  of 
science. 

Part  II.  Novum  Organum  ex^ilains  his  system  of  logic  and 
expounds  the  inductive  method  of  reasoning  which  earned  for 
him  the  title  of  father  of  experimental  science.  Only  one  of 
the  nine  sections  into  which  this  part  is  divided  is  fully  ex- 
plained; the  remainder  are  only  named.  The  Novum  Organum 
gave  expression  to  matters  which  were  then  under  consideration. 
The  period  was  ripe  for  reform.  Scholasticism  had  begun  to 
decay,  the  authority  of  the  church  was  waning.  Men  turned 
to  the  study  of  nature  and,  basing  their  work  upon  theory,  began 
investigating  the  sciences. 

Part  III.  Sylva  Sylvarum  was  to  be  a  complete  treatise  on 
natural  philosophy  and  natural  history,  but  Bacon  treated  only 
four  of  the  many  subjects  Avhich  were  to  come  under  this  head — - 
the  history  of  the  Winds,  that  of  Life  and  Death,  that  of  Density 
and  Rarity,  and  that  of  Sound  and  Hearing. 

Part  IV.  Scala  Intellectus.  Only  the  Filum  Labyrinthi, 
which  consists  of  but  two  or  three  pages,  is  extant.  This,  as  its 
main  title  suggests,  was  intended  as  a  key  to  the  new  philosophy. 

Part  V.  Prodromi — the  forerunners  of  the  new  philosophy. 
In  this  section  Bacon  purposed  to  present  certain  speculations 
of  his  own  not  based  upon  his  new  method  but  derived  from 
"the     unassisted  use  of  his  understanding."^"^     The  preface  of 

i<w  "Encyc.    Brit.,"   Vol.    ITI.,    s.v.    "Bacon." 


114  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

this  work  is  extant,  and  several  miscellaneous  treatises  which 
may  have  been  intended  for  it  as  De  Principiis,  De  Fluxu  et 
Refluxu,  etc. 

Part  VI.  Philosophia  Secunda — the  second  philosophy  which 
results  from  the  new  method — which  was  never  written. 

Bacon 's  writings,  although  they  received  but  scant  atten- 
tion in  his  lifetime,  gave  enormous  impulse  to  scientific 
thought  for  almost  a  century  after  his  death.  To  the  fact 
that  he  felt  the  neglect  of  his  own  countrymen,  or  that  he 
realized  that  learning  in  England  in  his  own  time  was  not 
so  far  advanced  as  on  the  Continent,  may  have  been  due 
the  prophetic  lines  found  in  his  will :  ' '  My  name  and  mem- 
ory I  leave  it  to  men's  charitable  speeches  and  to  foreign 
nations  and  the  next  ages."  Among  his  contemporaries 
both  Raleigh  and  Jonson  appreciated  his  genius,^"^  but  none 
expressed  it  so  fittingly  as  his  own  friend.  Sir  Tobie  Mat- 
thews, who  in  an  address  to  the  Reader^"^  said;  "A  man 
so  rare  in  knowledge  of  so  many  several  kinds,  endued  with 
the  facility  and  felicity  of  expressing  it  all  in  so  elegant, 
significant,  so  abundant  and  yet  so  choice  and  ravishing 
a  way  of  words,  of  metaphors,  of  allusions,  as  perhaps  the 
world  hath  not  seen  since  it  was  a  world."  After  his  im- 
peachment Lord  Bacon  retired  to  his  country  home  at 
Gorhambury,  where  he  revised  and  enlarged  his  ''Essays," 
wrote  a  "History  of  King  Henry  VII.,"  and  a  philosophical 
treatise  called  "The  New  Atlantis."  He  was  heavily  in 
debt  and  applied  for  the  office  of  Provost  of  Eton  College, 
hoping  to  secure  release  from  them,  but  it  was  refused.  He 
died  from  the  effects  of  a  cold  taken  while  out  for  a  drive, 
and  during  which  he  alighted  from  his  carriage  to  test  if 

i°*  See  Spcdding  "Letters  and  Life  of  Lord  Bacon,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  268. 
1"  "Collection  of  English  Letters"    (1660). 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  115 

the  flesh  of  fowl  could  be  preserved  with  snow  as  well  as 
with  salt.  While  stuffing  a  chicken  full  of  snow  by  the 
roadside  he  took  a  chill,  from  which  he  never  recovered. 
He  was  taken  to  the  home  of  the  Earl  of  Arundel  near  by, 
and  died  there  April  9,  1626. 

The  following  extract  is  from  Bacon 's  work,  * '  The  Essays, 
or  Counsels  Civil  and  Moral,"  and  treats  of  ''Learning." 
The  Essays  have  always  stood  as  standard  English  prose. 

Learning  taketh  away  the  wildness,  and  barbarism,  and 
fierceness  of  men's  minds:  though  a  little  superficial  learning 
doth  rather  work  a  contrary  effect.  It  taketh  away  all  levity, 
temerity,  and  insolency,  by  copious  suggestion  of  all  doubts 
and  difficulties,  and  acquainting  the  mind  to  balance  reasons  on 
both  sides,  and  to  turn  back  the  first  offers  and  conceits  of  the 
kind,  and  to  accept  of  nothing  but  examined  and  tried.  It 
taketh  away  vain  admiration  of  anything,  which  is  the  root  of 
all  weakness:  for  all  things  are  admired,  either  because  they 
are  new,  or  because  they  are  great.  For  novelty,  no  man 
wadeth  in  learning  or  contemplation  thoroughly,  but  with  that 
printed  in  his  heart,  "I  know  nothing."  Neither  can  any  man 
marv^el  at  the  play  of  puppets,  that  goeth  behind  the  curtain, 
and  adviseth  well  of  the  motion.  And  as  for  magnitude,  as 
Alexander  the  Great,  after  that  he  was  used  to  great  armies, 
and  the  great  conquests  of  the  spacious  provinces  in  Asia, 
when  he  received  letters  out  of  Greece,  of  some  fights  and  ser- 
vices there,  which  Avere  commonly  for  a  passage  or  fort  or 
some  walled  town  at  the  most,  he  said,  "It  seemed  to  him  that 
he  was  advertised  of  the  battle  of  the  frogs  and  the  mice,  that 
the  old  tales  went  of"; — so  certainly,  if  a  man  meditate  upon 
the  universal  frame  of  nature,  the  earth  with  men  upon  it,  the 
divineness  of  souls  excepted,  will  not  seem  much  other  than  an 
ant-hill,  where  some  ants  carry  corn,  and  some  carry  their 
young,  and  some  go  empty,  and  all  to  and  fro  a  little  heap  of 
dust.  It  taketh  away  or  mitigateth  fear  of  death,  or  adverse 
fortune,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  impediments  of  virtue,  and 
imperfections   of   manners.     For  if   a  man's   mind   be   deeply 


116  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

seasoned  with  the  consideration  of  the  mortality  and  corrupt- 
ible nature  of  things,  he  will  easily  concur  with  Epictetus,  who 
went  forth  one  day,  and  saw  a  woman  weeping  for  her  pitcher  of 
earth  that  was  broken ;  and  went  forth  the  next  day,  and  saw  a 
woman  weeping  for  her  son  that  was  dead;  and  thereupon  said, 
"Yesterday  I  saw  a  fragile  thing  broken,  to-day  I  have  seen  a 
mortal  thing  die."  And  therefore  Virgil  did  excellently  and 
profoundly  couple  the  knowledge  of  causes  and  the  conquest  of 
all  fears  together. 

2.    The  English  Bible 

With  the  year  1611,  which  marks  the  close  of  Shake- 
speare's literary  activity,  and  the  publication  of  the 
Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible,  the  Early  Modern  or 
Tudor  Period  may  be  said  to  close.  But  before  then  there 
was  a  time  in  England  when  Bibles  were  only  to  burn  and 
not  to  read.  The  law  compelled  those  that  read  them  to 
throw  them  into  the  flames,  but  the  Bible  survived  and 
was  revised,  translated  and,  finally,  authorized.  By  royal 
order  a  copy  of  it  was  placed  in  every  church  throughout 
England  in  1541,  and  there  the  people  flocked  to  read  it  or 
to  hear  it  read.  If  naught  else  had  been  done  in  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  but  to  establish  the  Bible  as  the  great  standard 
of  our  national  Faith  by  her  command,  this  act  alone  would 
have  entitled  her  to  rank  among  the  great  sovereigns  of 
England. 

Two  editions  of  this  great  work  appeared  before  that 
which  we  commonly  designate  the  Authorized  Version. 
The  first  was  the  translation  by  Miles  Coverdale,  known  as 
the  Geneva  Bible,  which  was  completed  in  1560,  and  which 
was  greatly  prized  by  the  Puritans.  The  second,  known  as 
the  Bishops'  Bible,  was  translated  under  the  supervision 
of  Matthew  Parker,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  "able 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  117 

bishops  and  other  learned  men, ' '  and  was  completed  October 
5,  1568. 

The  Bible  which  Protestants  still  use,  notwithstanding 
the  defects  pointed  out  by  eminent  Bible  scholars,  was  the 
result  of  a  conference  between  representatives  of  the  High 
Church  and  of  the  Low  Church  parties  which  was  held 
at  Hampton  Court  Palace,  in  Middlesex,  England,  in  1604. 
The  guiding  spirit  of  this  conference  was  King  James  I., 
who  himself  spontaneously  sketched  out  the  plan  under 
which  the  labor  was  to  be  done.  The  work,  once  under- 
taken, was  subdivided  among  forty-seven  eminent  scholars 
and  divines  who  formed  themselves  into  six  committees  and 
were  occupied  in  the  revision  for  nearly  five  years.  It  took 
Robert  Barker,  the  King 's  Printer,  two  years  to  put  it  into 
print,  and  when  published  it  consisted  of  "two  contem- 
porary issues  of  folio  volumes  separately  composed,  and 
printed  in  the  year  1611."^"^ 

What  shall  one  say  of  the  style  of  the  English  Bible? 
A  writer  in  *'The  Spectator"  (London)  has  answered  the 
question  thus:  "It  is  the  noblest  example  of  the  English 
tongue,"  and  will  bear  analysis  as  its  subject  matter  has 
borne  criticism.  As  for  the  prose  of  the  Bible,  even  its 
more  dominant  elements  are  difficult  to  isolate.  They  are 
as  much  psychological  as  linguistic,  elements  not  only  of 
the  English  tongue  but  of  the  English  spirit.  Of  the  prose 
of  the  Bible  it  may,  indeed,  be  said,  "Le  style  c'est  le 
peuple.'*  For  instance,  there  is  the  adaptation  of  Hebrew 
ideas;  it  is  an  adaptation  not  only  in  expression  but  in 
substance.  It  might  seem  inevitable  that  in  a  translation 
from  the  Hebrew  the  essence  of  the  ideas  at  least  would 
remain  Hebraic.     But  there  are  good  grounds,  among  them 

»»»"Encyc.  Brit.,"  VIII.,   s.v.  English  Bible. 


118  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

being  the  influence  of  the  Bible  upon  the  English  people, 
for  believing  that  this  is  not  the  case.  A  priori,  of  course, 
the  mere  fact  of  translation  proves  that  the  ideas,  in  passing 
from  Hebrew  to  English  words,  have  ceased  to  be  Hebrew 
and  have  become  English.  The  remarks  of  Jesus,  the  son 
of  Sirach,  in  the  preface  of  his  translation  from  Hebrew 
into  Greek  of  his  grandfather's  ** Wisdom,"  which  we 
know  as  "Ecclesiasticus,"  are  very  much  to  the  point.  He 
says :  ' '  The  same  things  uttered  in  Hebrew  and  translated 
into  another  tongue  have  not  the  same  force  in  them ;  and 
not  only  these  things  but  the  law  itself,  and  the  prophets 
and  the  rest  of  the  books,  have  no  small  difference  when 
they  are  spoken  in  their  own  language." 

"All  wisdom  cometh  from  the  Lord,  and  is  with  Him  for 
ever. ' '  That  contains  the  essence  of  the  characteristic  style 
of  the  prose  of  our  Bible.  "We  select  it  for  the  interesting 
contrast  it  presents  to  the  preface.  For,  if  we  were  search- 
ing for  a  specimen  containing  the  essential  characteristics 
of  English  prose,  we  could  hardly  do  better  than  quote 
the  words  already  cited  from  this  preface.  Compare  them 
from  any  point  of  view,  and  with  any  qualifications,  to  the 
already  cited  first  words  of  *  *  Ecclesiasticus. "  There  is 
clearly  a  profound  difference. 

We  are  not  implying  that  these  characteristics,  whatever 
they  may  be,  are  Hebraic.  We  merely  suggest  that  they  are 
not  the  normal  characteristics  of  English  prose,  either  at  the 
period  of  their  composition  or  at  any  other.  One  or  two 
further  specimens  will  serve  to  emphasize  the  type  and  to 
show  how  constant  it  is.  "Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  thy 
paths  in  the  great  waters ;  and  thy  footsteps  are  not  known. ' ' 
"Such  as  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  being 
fast  bound  in  misery  and  iron. "    "  And  there  was  no  more 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  119 

sea."  "The  Lord  do  so  to  me  and  more  also,  if  aught  but 
death  part  me  and  thee."  *'As  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry- 
place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land." 
"Rise  up,  ye  women  that  are  at  ease.  Hear  my  voice,  ye 
careless  daughters."  "They  sold  the  righteous  for  silver, 
and  the  poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes."  Clearly  the  passages 
cited  haphazard  out  of  hundreds  of  thousands  like  them 
bear  a  special  stamp.  "When  we  consider  them  we  find  that 
they  have  a  particular  appeal  to  the  ear.  And  in  fact,  we 
may  take  it  that  the  first  and  most  prominent  characteristic 
is  a  special  rhythm.  It  is  of  a  simple  type,  but  as  the  least 
study  will  show,  it  is  handled  with  extraordinary  art.  It 
is  neither  too  fluent  nor  too  slow,  but  it  is  both  smooth  and 
weighty.  It  is  carefully  balanced  in  the  complementary 
members  of  a  sentence,  yet  it  never  degenerates  into  meter. 
The  rhythm  of  many  English  writers  tends  to  be  either 
dissipated  among  polysyllables  or  emphasized  to  monotony, 
iambic  as  in  Blackmore,  hexametric  as  in  Ruskin.  But  the 
rhythm  of  the  Bible,  though  built  of  the  same  elements  as 
the  verse  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  is  specifically  a  prose, 
not  a  verse  rhythm.  The  perfection  of  its  technique  is 
infallible.^"^ 

In  one  of  his  Epistles  Seneca  tells  us  that  the  first  petition 
we  should  make  to  the  Almighty  is  for  a  good  conscience, 
the  second,  for  a  healthy  mind,  and  the  third,  for  a  healthy 
body.  A  perusal  of  the  Bible  will  put  us  in  the  proper 
frame  of  mind  to  do  this  better  than  any  other  work  penned 
by  human  hand.  How  such  a  practise  affected  Ruskin 
he  has  told  us:  "Read  your  Bible,"  said  he,  "making  it 
the  first  morning  business  of  your  life  to  understand  some 
portion  of  it  clearly,  and  your  daily  business  to  obey  it  in 

**•  "The   Spectator,"   London,   August  26,   1911. 


120  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

all  that  you  do  understand.  To  my  early  knowledge  of 
the  Bible  I  owe  the  best  part  of  my  taste  in  literature,  and 
the  most  precious,  and,  on  the  whole,  the  one  essential  part 
of  my  education. ' '  No  living  being  can  hope  to  achieve  all 
the  good  that  is  taught  by  the  Scriptures,  but  he  may  hope 
to  achieve  a  great  part  of  it.  As  Sir  Walter  Scott  ex- 
pressed it,  'Hhe  more  deeply  he  works  the  mine,  the  richer 
and  more  abundant  he  finds  the  ore ;  new  light  continually 
beams  from  this  source  of  heavenly  knowledge,  to  direct  the 
conduct,  and  illustrate  the  work  of  God  and  the  ways  of 
men;  and  he  will  at  last  leave  the  world  confessing  that 
the  more  he  studied  the  Scriptures,  the  fuller  conviction  he 
had  of  his  own  ignorance,  and  of  their  inestimable  value. ' ' 

Ulysses  Simpson  Grant  attributed  to  the  influence  of  the 
Bible  all  the  progress  made  in  true  civilization,  and  be- 
lieved that  we  must  look  to  it  as  our  guide  in  the  future. 
Others,  too,  have  echoed  this  sentiment,  for  the  Bible  be- 
longs to  the  world,  and  has  outlived  all  other  books  as  a 
mighty  factor  in  civilization.  Radical  in  its  unique  and 
peerless  teachings,  identified  with  the  promotion  of  liberty, 
the  companion  or  pioneer  of  commerce,  the  founder  of  civil 
government,  the  source  and  support  of  learning,  as  both 
containing  and  fostering  literature  of  the  noblest  order,  and 
as  the  promoter  and  purifier  of  art,  it  is  a  book  that  has 
enshrined  within  its  many  pages  more  specimens  of  genius 
and  taste  than  any  other  work  known  to  man.  To  Napoleon 
it  was  a  living  power — a  book  surpassing  all  others.  "I 
never  fail  to  read  it,"  said  he,  **and  every  day  with  the 
same  pleasure.  Nowhere  is  to  be  found  such  a  series  of 
beautiful  ideas,  and  admirable  moral  maxims,  which  pass 
before  us  like  the  battalions  of  a  celestial  army.  .  .  .  The 
soul  can  never  go  astray  with  this  book  for  its  guide. ' '     If 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  121 

it  has  taught  us  nothing  else  it  has  taught  us  the  best  way  to 
live,  the  manly  way  to  suffer,  and  the  noblest  way  to  die. 
Empires  may  crumble,  kingdoms  decay,  and  cities  fall,  but 
tyranny  has  not  been  able  to  destroy  it,  traditions  have 
been  unable  to  shake  it,  and  atheism  can  not  undermine  it. 
Amid  the  wreck  of  nations  this  work — the  Word  of  God — 
s^^ands  supreme  throughout  our  world  to-day. 

As  literature  the  English  Bible  is  a  masterpiece.  It  was 
of  this  book  that  Macaulay  said,  ' '  If  everything  else  in  our 
language  should  perish,  it  would  alone  sufifice  to  show  the 
whole  extent  of  the  beauty  and  power  of  that  language." 
As  it  has  proved  to  others,  so  it  has  proved  to  me,  the  light 
of  my  understanding,  my  consoler  in  sorrow,  and  my  guide 
in  the  hour  of  trial.  It  teaches  man  the  most  effectual  way  to 
civilize  and  humanize  his  kind ;  to  elevate  and  purify  public 
morals;  to  efficiently  maintain  the  precepts  of  law  and 
order,  and  to  improve  all  the  relations  of  social  and  domes- 
tic life.  "Scholars  may  quote  Plato  in  their  studies,"  said 
Conway,  "but  the  hearts  of  millions  will  quote  the  Bible  at 
their  daily  toil,  and  draw  strength  from  its  inspiration,  as 
the  meadows  draw  it  from  the  brook. ' '  It  is,  indeed,  a  noble 
Book,  the  Book  for  all  men.  It  is  not  only  our  first  and  our 
oldest  expounder  of  the  everlasting  problem  of  man's  des- 
tiny in  his  relation  to  God,  but,  to  borrow  Daniel  Webster's 
view,  it  is  a  book  of  Faith,  and  a  book  of  doctrine,  a  book 
of  morals,  and  a  book  of  religion.  Horace  Greeley  believed 
that  the  principles  of  the  Bible  are  the  groundwoi'k  of 
human  freedom,  and  Benjamin  Franklin  felt  its  influence 
for  good  so  supreme  that  he  said:  "A  Bible  and  a  news- 
paper in  every  house,  a  good  school  in  every  district — all 
studied  and  appreciated  as  they  merit — are  the  principal 
supports  of  virtue,  morality,  and  civil  liberty."    Found  in 


122  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  home  of  the  poor,  as  well  as  in  the  halls  of  the  rich,  it 
has  been  woven  into  our  literature,  and  absorbed  by  our 
speech.  As  that  great  American  statesman,  Edward  Ever- 
ett, once  said :  * '  If  it  were  possible  to  annihilate  the  Bible, 
and  with  it  all  its  influences,  we  should  destroy  with  it 
the  whole  spiritual  system  of  the  moral  world,  all  refine- 
ment of  manners,  constitutional  government,  security  of 
property,  our  schools,  hospitals  and  benevolent  associations, 
the  press,  the  fine  arts,  the  equality  of  the  sexes,  and  the 
blessings  of  the  fireside."  For  our  own  sakes  let  us  hope, 
then,  that  the  day  of  its  annihilation  may  be  far  distant. 

The  occasion  of  the  tercentennary  celebration  of  the 
publication  of  the  King  James  Version  at  the  Albert  Hall, 
London,  March  29,  1911,  led  William  H.  Taft,  who  was 
President  of  the  United  States  at  the  time,  to  express  the 
following  sentiments  concerning  the  English  Bible  to  the 
delegates  convened:  "This  Book  of  books  has  not  only 
reigned  supreme  in  England  for  three  centuries,  but  has 
bound  together  as  nothing  else  could  two  great  Anglo-Saxon 
nations,  one  in  blood,  in  speech,  and  in  common  religious 
life.  Our  laws,  our  literature  and  our  social  life  owe  what- 
ever excellence  they  possess  largely  to  the  influence  of  this, 
our  chief  classic,  acknowledged  as  such  equally  on  both 
sides  of  the  sea." 

To  the  reader  who  cares  to  study  the  Bible  in  its  relation 
to  modern  life  it  is  a  pleasure  to  recommend  a  work  bear- 
ing on  this  subject  from  the  pen  of  Joseph  S.  Auerbach. 
In  this  work  nothing  is  omitted  because  of  difference  of  in- 
terpretation. As  the  writer  reads  without  comment,  so  the 
student  is  left  to  connect  the  text  according  to  liis  faith  or 
teaching. 

The  influence  of  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  123 

upon  the  English  language  can  be  measured  only  in  part 
by  its  influence  on  the  English-speaking  peoples.  As  a 
literary  work  it  has  preserved  to  us  a  language  peculiarly 
its  own.  Of  Anglo-Saxon  words  it  contains  97  per  cent. — 
more  than  any  other  English  book.  Biblical  English  may 
be  archaic  in  form,  but  this  archaic  character  was  not 
derived  from  Elizabethan  or  Jacobean  sources.  Hallam 
has  pointed  out  that  it  is  "not  the  English  of  Daniel,  or 
Raleigh,  or  Bacon,"  but  it  may  be  traced  back  to  the 
language  of  Wycliffe,  and  although  this  "abounds  with 
obsolete  phraseology  and  with  single  words  long  since 
abandoned  or  retained  only  in  provincial  use"  it  has  given 
all  men  so  much  satisfaction  that  no  other  revision  which 
has  succeeded  it  has  been  received  with  sufficient  favor  as 
to  displace  the  veneration  in  which  the  King  James  Version 
is  held. 

In  his  "Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Scriptures," 
Dr.  Thomas  Hartwell  Home  gives  the  following  statistics 
concerning  the  contents  of  the  Bible,  the  computation  of 
which  occupied  more  than  three  years  of  his  time. 

OLD  NEW 

TESTAMENT          TESTAMENT  TOTAL 

Books  39  27  66 

Chapters 929  260  1,189 

Verses  33,214  7,959  41,173 

Words  593,493  181,253  774,746 

Letters  2.728.100  838,380  3,566,480 

APOCRYPHAL    BOOKS 

Books,  14 ;  chapters,  183 ;  verses,  6,031 ;  words,  125,185 ;  letters, 
1,063,876. 

Another  computation  made  by  the  Prince  of  Granada, 


124  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

heir  to  the  Spanish  throne,  during  a  period  of  imprison- 
ment yields  the  following  facts: 

Books 66 

Chapters        1,189 

Verses 31,373  [  ?] 

Words 773,693 

Letters 3,538,483 

A  writer  to  the  "Manchester  Union"  (Manchester,  Eng- 
land) computed  the  number  of  words  as  810,697.  A  calcu- 
lation of  the  different  words  used  in  the  Old  Testament, 
based  on  the  number  of  Hebrew  words  translated  into  Eng- 
lish, yields  a  total  of  8,674,  or  about  one-half  the  number 
of  English  words  usually  credited  to  Shakespeare. 

(B)  The  Modern  Period:  The  Influence  of  the  Press 

In  point  of  time  the  Modern  Period  ranges  from  1611 
to  the  present  day.  It  embraces  a  vast  army  of  writers  of 
every  kind  of  literature  which  has  appeared  during  the  past 
three  hundred  years.  Of  these  writers  John  Milton  was 
unquestionably  the  peer.  His  own  contemporary,  John 
Dryden,  to  whom  Buckhurst,  who  later  became  Lord  Dorset, 
showed  a  copy  of  ''Paradise  Lost,"  exclaimed,  "This  man 
cuts  us  all  out  and  the  ancients  too."  A  tradition  is  pre- 
served that  Sir  John  Denham,  who  had  been  permitted  to 
read  a  sheet  of  this  poem  as  it  came  off  the  press,  declared 
it  to  be  "  the  noblest  poem  ever  written. ' '  Macaulay  in  his 
"History  of  England"  described  Milton  as  "a  mighty  poet 
who,  tried  at  once  by  pain,  danger,  poverty,  obloquy,  and 
blindness,  meditated,  undisturbed  by  the  obscene  tumult 
which  raged  all  around  him,  a  song  so  sublime  and  so  holy 
that  it  would  not  have  misbecome  the  lips  of  those  ethereal 
Virtues  whom  he  saw,  with  that  inner  eye  which  no  calamity 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  125 

could  darken,  flinging  down  on  the  jasper  pavement  their 
crowns  of  amaranth  and  gold. ' ' 

John  Milton  was  born  in  Bread  Street,  Cheapside,  Lon- 
don, on  December  9,  1608.  A  portrait  of  Milton,  made 
when  he  was  ten  years  old,  shows  him  to  have  been  a  beau- 
tiful lad,  and  this  likeness  is  borne  out  by  a  tradition  which 
claims  that  his  beautiful  and  delicate  pink  and  white  skin, 
together  with  his  wealth  of  silken  auburn  hair,  earned  for 
him  the  sobriquet  of  ''The  Lady  of  the  College"  at  Christ 
College,  Cambridge.  He  received  his  early  education  at 
the  hands  of  a  private  tutor  named  Thomas  Young,  who 
later  became  a  famous  Presbyterian  divine.  When  about 
twelve  years  old  Milton  attended  St.  Paul's  School.  From 
the  outset  he  showed  a  passion  for  study,  often  reading  late 
into  the  night,  thereby,  as  he  himself  thought,  causing  the 
injury  to  his  eyes  which  ultimately  caused  his  blindness. 
Besides  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  English,  Milton 
learned  Latin  and  Greek,  French  and  Italian,  and  was  able 
to  read  Hebrew.  When  but  fifteen  years  old  he  wrote  two 
paraphrases  of  the  Psalms. 

On  attaining  his  sixteenth  year  Milton  entered  Cambridge 
University  as  a  minor  pensioner.  Owing  to  a  quarrel  be- 
tween his  tutor,  William  Chappell  and  himself,  he  is  said 
to  have  withdrawn  from  the  University  for  a  time,  and  on 
his  return  to  have  been  placed  under  the  tutorship  of 
Nathaniel  Tovey.  Milton  wrote  the  Latin  verses  for  the 
college  commencement  of  1628,  and  a  magnificent  "Ode  on 
the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity"  in  1629.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  noble  specimens  of  lyric  poetry  ever  produced. 
It  was  followed  by  a  sonnet  to  Shakespeare  in  1630. 
Although  educated  for  the  church,  Milton  refused  to  take 
the  necessary  oaths,  and  therefore  was  '  *  church-outed  by  the 


126  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

prelates."  From  July,  1632  to  April,  1638,  Milton  lived 
with  his  father  at  Horton  (Bucks),  about  eighteen  miles 
from  London,  While  here,  reading  the  Greek  and  Latin 
poets,  he  produced  "L 'Allegro,"  "II  Penseroso,"  "Ar- 
cades," "Comus,"  and  "Lycidas."  Of  these  poems  the 
first  two  are  the  most  popular,  and  show  the  poet's  intense 
love  of  nature. 

In  April,  1638,  Milton,  with  his  father's  consent,  went 
abroad.  He  arrived  in  Paris,  but  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  there  he  met  Hugo  Grotius,  the  famous  Dutch  states- 
man, found  that  city  uncongenial ;  he  disliked  ' '  the  manners 
and  genius"  of  the  place  and  so  proceeded  to  Nice.  From 
there  he  traveled  by  sea  to  Genoa  and  Leghorn,  and  thence 
through  Pisa  to  Florence,  where  he  remained  some  time, 
and  visited  Galileo  who  was  detained  there  as  a  prisoner 
by  the  Holy  Office  for  having  expressed  his  views  about 
the  stars.  From  Florence  Milton  went  to  Rome,  where  he 
was  well  received,  and  thence  to  Naples,  where  he  met  the 
Marquis  of  Villa,  the  friend  of  Tasso.  Returning  to  Flor- 
ence he  remained  there  for  two  months,  then  visited  Venice, 
Bologna,  and  Ferrara  in  turn.  Leaving  Italy  via  Verona 
he  crossed  the  Simplon  Pass  and  proceeded  to  Geneva, 
which  he  reached  in  July,  1639,  whence  he  set  out  for  home 
through  Paris  and  reached  England  at  the  end  of  the 
month. 

Milton's  visit  to  Florence  was  memorable,  for  he  was 
received  most  cordially  by  all  the  learned  men  there.  Among 
these  were  Jacopo  Gaddi,  Carlo  Diodati,  Benedetto  Bon- 
mattei,  Antonio  Malatesti,  and  Agostino  Coltellini.  Milton's 
chief  companion  when  in  Rome  was  Lucas  Holste,  who  at 
that  time  held  the  office  of  librarian  to  the  Vatican.  It  was 
while  in  that  city  that  Milton  attended  a  concert  held  in 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  127 

Cardinal  Barberini's  palace.  In  Naples  he  met  Manso,  the 
patron  of  Tasso  and  many  other  men,  whose  names  now 
adorn  the  school  of  fame. 

Shortly  after  his  return  to  England  Milton  settled  in 
lodges  in  St,  Bride's  Churchyard,  and  from  there  moved, 
for  lack  of  space  for  his  books,  to  a  cosy  little  garden-house 
on  Aldersgate  Street.  Here  he  resumed  his  literary  work 
and  devoted  a  part  of  his  time  to  the  tuition  of  a  number  of 
pupils  (1643).  In  that  year  he  married  Mary  Powell,  the 
daughter  of  Richard  Powell,  a  Royalist,  of  Forest  Hill,  near 
Shotover  in  Oxfordshire.  His  first  matrimonial  venture 
did  not  prove  a  happy  one,  and  in  1644  the  fruit  of  this  mes- 
alliance was  a  work  on  "Divorce."  The  * ' Areopagitica, " 
said  to  be  the  finest  of  his  prose  compositions,  he  addressed 
to  Parliament  in  the  same  year.  This  work  dealt  with  the 
question  of  unlicensed  prints.  In  that  year  there  appeared 
also  his  ** Tractate  on  Education."  During  the  ten  years 
that  followed  Milton  produced  a  number  of  political  papers 
which  reflect  the  intense  feelings  which  the  writer  held 
against  the  crown.  In  1653  he  lost  his  wife  and  suffered 
from  paralysis  of  the  optic  nerve,  which  culminated  in 
blindness.  It  was  under  these  conditions  that  he  began  to 
write  his  immortal  poem  "Paradise  Lost."  This  was  not 
completed  until  1663.  In  1667  Milton  signed  an  agreement 
with  one  Samuel  Simmons  or  Symons,  under  which  the 
former  was  to  receive  five  pounds  down  and  five  pounds 
additional  on  the  sale  of  the  first  three  editions.  Each 
edition  consisted  of  1,500  copies,  but  an  accounting  was 
to  be  made  when  1,300  copies  had  been  sold.  Milton  re- 
ceived only  ten  pounds  in  all  for  this  work,  and  in  1680 
his  widow"*  settled  all  claims  on  Simmons  for  eight  pounds, 

**•  Milton  married  three  times. 


128  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

then  he  became  sole  owner  of  the  copyright.  Milton's 
"Paradise  Regained,"  said  to  have  originated  from  a  re- 
mark made  by  his  friend,  Ellwood,"^  was  published  to- 
gether with  his  "Samson  Agonistes"  in  1671.  The  latter 
has  a  certain  autobiographical  value  which  makes  it  most 
interesting. 

Milton,  spared  by  the  Great  Plague,  and  by  the  Great 
Fire,  passed  away  so  peacefully  that  when  the  end  came  it 
was  scarcely  perceived.  Gout  "struck  in,"  and  he  passed 
away  with  scarcely  a  pain,  November  8,  1674.  He  was 
buried  in  the  Church  of  St.  Giles,  Cripplegate,  in  London. 

It  took  Milton  seven  years  to  produce  "Paradise  Lost" 
(1658-1665),  but  much  longer  to  conceive  it.  While  the 
Cavalier  poets  had  been  stringing  their  garlands  of  arti- 
ficial blossoms  in  the  heated  air  of  the  Stuart  court,  Milton 
had  been  weaving  his  sweet  chaplets  of  unfading  wild- 
flowers  in  the  meadows  of  Horton.  It  was  not  in  the  nature 
of  things  that  the  great  Puritan  poet  should  pass  through 
the  trying  hours  of  conflict  and  triumph  without  many 
stains  of  earth  deepening  on  his  spirit.  To  purge  these 
away,  required  suffering  in  many  shapes — blindness,  bitter- 
ness of  soul,  threatening  ruin  and  narrowness  of  means. 
Yet  political  disgraces  could  not  break  the  giant's  wing; 
they  but  served  to  give  it  greater  strength.  From  a  fall 
which  would  have  laid  a  feebler  man  in  his  coffin,  Milton 
arose  with  his  noblest  poem  completed  in  his  hand — and 
Milton's  noblest  poem  is  the  crown  and  glory  of  our  Eng- 
lish literature.  What  more  need  be  said  of  Puritan  in- 
fluence upon  English  letters  than  that  Puritan  Milton  wrote 
"Paradise  Lost! ""2 

1"  "Thou  hast  said  miieh  here  of  "Paradise  Lost,  but  what  hast  thou  to  say 
of  Paradise  Found?" — "Diet,  of  Nat.   Biog.,"  Vol.   XXXVIII,  p.   34. 
i"W.  F.  Collior,  "Hist,  of  Eng.    Lit.,"  p.  180. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  129 

The  following  lines  rendered  in  modern  spelling,  are 
taken  from  the  College  Exercise,  and  were  written  by 
Milton  in  1627.     He  was  then  in  his  nineteenth  year. 

"Hail,  native  Language,  that  by  sinews  weak 
Didst  move  my  first  endeavouring  tongue  to  speak, 
And  mad'st  imperfect  words  with  childish  trips, 
Half-unpronounced,  slide  through  my  infant  lips: 

"I  have  some  naked  thoughts  that  rove  about, 
And  loudly  knock  to  have  their  passage  out; 
And,  weary  of  their  place,  do  only  stay 
Till  thou  hast  deck'd  them  in  their  best  array. 

"Yet  I  had  rather,  if  I  were  to  chose, 
Thy  service  in  some  graver  subject  use, 
Such  as  may  make  thee  search  thy  coffers  round, 
Before  they  clothe  my  fancy  in  fit  sound; 
Such  where  the  deep  transported  mind  may  soar 
Above  the  wheeling  poles,  and  at  heaven 's  door 
Look  in,  and  see  each  blissful  deity 
How  he  before  the  thunderous  throne  doth  lie, 
Listening  to  what  unshorn  Apollo  sings 
To  the  touch  of  golden  wires,  while  Hebe  brings 
Immortal  nectar  to  her  kingly  sire : 
Then  passing  through  the  spheres  of  watchful  fire, 
And  misty  regions  of  wide  air  next  under. 
And  hills  of  snow,  and  lofts  of  piled  thunder, 
May  tell  at  length  how  gi'een-eyed  Neptune  raves, 
Tn  heaven's  defiance  mustering  all  his  waves; 
Then  sing  of  secret  things  that  came  to  pass 
When  beldame  Nature  in  her  cradle  was; 
And  last  of  kings,  and  queens,  and  heroes  old. 
Such  as  the  wise  Demodocus  once  told 
In  solemn  songs  at  King  Alcinous'  feast. 
While  sad  Ulysses'  soul  and  all  the  rest 
Are  held  with  his  melodious  harmony 
Tn  willing  chains  and  sweet  captivity." 


130  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  following  sonnet  from  the  first  edition  (1645)  of 
Milton's  ''Minor  Poems,"  will  serve  to  show  the  reader 
that  in  some  respects  the  spelling  of  Milton  is  not  the 
spelling  of  our  day — ^note  the  italicized  words: 

"How  soon  hath  Time  the  subtle  theef  of  youth, 
Stoln  on  his  wing  my  three  and  twentith  yeer! 
My  hasting  dayes  flie  on  with  full  career, 
But  my  late  spring  no  bud  or  blossom  shew'th. 
Perhaps  my  semblance  might  deceive  the  truth, 
That  I  to  manhood  am  arriv'd  so  near, 
And  inward  ripenes  doth  nuich  less  appear, 
That  som  more  timely-happy  spirits  indu'th. 
Yet  be  it  less  or  more,  or  soon  or  slow. 
It  shall  be  still  in  strictest  measure  eev'n, 
To  that  same  lot,  however  mean,  or  high, 
Toward  which  Time  leads  me,  and  the  will  of  Heav'n; 
All  is,  if  I  have  grace  to  use  it  so. 
As  ever  in  my  great  task  Masters  eye. 

Let  us  now  look  into  the  state  of  the  language  at  the 
time  of  Milton's  birth.  It  was  then  the  practically  in- 
flectionless  tongue  which  we  use  to-day,  but  its  orthography 
was  unsettled.  Notwithstanding  the  publication  of  Eng- 
lish dictionaries  which  was  begun  in  1552,  when  Richard 
Huloet  issued  his  folio  volume  which  gave  English  defi- 
nitions for  English  words,  and  was  continued  by  Robert 
Cawdrey  with  his  "Table  Alphabeticall  conteyning  and 
teaching  the  true  writing  and  understanding  of  hard  usuall 
English  wordes," — the  first  dictionary  confined  entirely  to 
the  English  language — the  manner  of  spelling  of  English 
words  was  not  fixed.  Although  it  has  been  claimed  that 
English  spelling  "did  not  settle  down  to  present  usage 
till  about  the  Restoration"  (1660),^^^  it  is  a  fact  that  both 

"»  "Encyc.  Brit.,"  VIII,  p.  399. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  131 

Nathan  Bailey  and  Samuel  Johnson — the  first  in  1721, 
the  second  in  1755 — issued  their  respective  dictionaries, 
hoping  thereby  "  to  fix  the  language, ' '  but  their  hopes  were 
not  realized.  Even  in  Johnson's  time  final  "k"  was  re- 
tained in  domestick,  publick,  musick,  etc.;  "x"  was  used 
for  *'ct"  in  connexion;  "authors"  he  spelled  authours; 
"control,"  controul;  "expense,"  expence;  "forborne," 
forhorn;  *' registered,"  registred,  "synonyms,"  synonimes, 
etc.  It  is  chiefly  because  of  these  attempts  to  establish  a 
standard  of  orthography  that  English  spelling  has  become 
the  most  perplexing  problem  with  which  every  one  who 
learns  the  English  language  has  to  deal.  At  the  very 
bottom  is  an  alphabet,  the  sounds  of  the  letters  of  which 
have  been  perverted  by  one  generation  after  another  until 
it  is  the  most  unphonetic  creation  of  the  kind  in  existence. 
It  represents  the  32  elementary  sounds  in  English  speech 
with  26  letters,  many  of  which  are  used  without  regard 
to  phonetic  sounds. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  letter  "a"  represents  from 
five  to  eight  sounds.  The  claim  is  modest ;  the  fact  is  that 
in  its  varying  sounds  it  may  be  expressed  no  less  than  thirty 
diif erent  ways :  (1)  a-le;  (2)  m-a*-d;  (3)  ih-ey;  (4)  g-ao-1; 
(5)  g-a!^-ge;  (6)  st-ea-k;  (7)  v-et-1;  (8)  str-aigh-t;  (9) 
eigh-t;  (10)  d-ay;  (11)  aye;  (12)  at;  (13)  arm;  (14)  alms; 
(15)  h-ear-th;  (16)  l-au-gh;  (17)  ah;  (18)  la;  (19)  augh-t; 
(20)  b-aM;-l;  (21)  all;  (22)  h-au-\;  (23)  ough-t;  (24)  ai-r; 
(25)  c-are;  (26)  ere;  (27)  h-ea-r;  (28)  sof-a;  (29)  w-a-tch; 
(30)  extr-ao-rdinary. 

By  close  observation  one  may  see  that  "e,"  too,  is  some- 
what of  a  usurper,  for  it  represents  at  least  seven  dip- 
thongal  sounds : — J^'sop  ;  peace ;  flee ;  seizure ;  clear ;  mere ; 
CE^dipus. 


132  ESSENTIALS   OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  letters  "i,"  "o,"  and  "u"  have  been  used,  or  rather 
misused  in  the  same  way,  until  all  that  remains  to  us  is  an 
agglomeration  of  erratic  symbols  to  indicate  distinct  sounds. 
That  the  common  English  alphabet  does  not  contain  enough 
letters  has  already  been  proved.  We  have  twelve  distinct 
vowel  sounds,  and  besides  these  a  large  number  of  syllables 
in  pronouncing  which  the  voice  passes  from  one  consonant 
to  another,  barely  touching  the  intervening  obscure  vowel. 
The  diphthongs  i  and  u,  represented  by  single  letters,  in- 
crease the  number  to  fifteen.  "We  have  but  five  letters,  and 
such  help  as  we  can  get  from  w  and  y,  to  represent  them. 
Meiklejohn  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  every  printed 
symbol  may  be  sounded  in  from  two  to  eighteen  different 
ways.  For  further  discussion  of  this  subject,  see  Chapter  IX. 

Although  usage  has  determined  the  correct  spelling  of 
many  common  words,  mutations  in  others  in  daily  use  con- 
tinue, as  the  spelling  of  such  words  as  ax,  fetish,  gram, 
pedler,  plow  (a  reversion  from  plough  to  the  spelling  found 
in  the  King  James  Version  of  the  Bible),  savior,  sirup,  etc., 
will  serve  to  show,  and  it  may  be  safely  inferred  therefrom 
that  as  long  as  the  language  is  spoken  some  changes  in  the 
spelling  of  its  words  will  be  made  from  time  to  time. 

By  the  year  1611  the  English  language  had  become  a 
plastic  medium  for  the  expression  of  thought.  Since  then 
it  has  been  enriched  as  occasion  required  by  assimilation — 
drawing  from  foreign  sources  such  words  as  were  needed. 
Other  words  called  for  by  new  inventions  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  were  coined  to  meet  these  requirements.  But 
greater  diffusion  was  needed,  and  this  the  language  began 
to  secure  with  the  appearance  of  the  first  English 
*'Courant"  which  was  issued  December  2,  1620.  It  was 
preceded  by  a  "News  Letter"  printed  in  Dutch. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  133 

There  is  in  the  British  Museum,  London,  a  volume  con- 
taining 24  English  "Courants,"  the  existence  of  which 
was  unknown  two  years  ago.  The  Museum  authorities 
acquired  them  as  recently  as  November,  1912.  They  are 
single  sheets  folio  of  sizes  varying  from  223  millimeters  to 
302  millimeters.  Eighteen  of  the  twenty-four  are  printed  in 
black  letter  type.  Sixteen  were  printed  at  Amsterdam, 
thirteen  by  George  Veseler  and  three  by  Broer  Jonson ;  one 
at  Alkamaar  by  "M.  H.";  one  at  The  Hague  by  Adrian 
Clarke,  and  six  at  London  by  "N.  B."  (Nathaniel  Butter). 

The  first  of  these  publications  bears  the  date  December 
2,  1620,  and  announces  that  "the  new  ty dings  out  of  Italic 
are  not  yet  com,"  but  continues:  "Out  of  Weenen,  the  6 
November,"  etc.  This  was  printed  at  Amsterdam  "the  2 
of  December."  It  was  sold  by  Petrus  Keerius,  cartog- 
rapher and  bookseller  on  the  Calverstreete. 

The  others  bear  the  following  dates :  December  23,  1620 ; 
January  21,  1621 ;  March  31,  1621 ;  April  9,  1621 ;  July  5, 
1621  (this  number  is  entitled  "Courant  Newes  out  of  Italy, 
Germany,  Bohemia,  Poland,  &c.")  ;  July  9,  1621  (this  bears 
the  same  date  as  the  preceding  but  is  designated  "Cor- 
ante,  or,  Newes  from  Italy,  Germanic,  Hungarie,  Spaine 
and  France";  it  was  printed  at  " Amstelredam "  by  Broer 
Jonson)  ;  July  15,  1621 ;  July  20,  1621,  wherein  Broer  Jon- 
son is  described  as  "Coranter  to  his  Excellencie";  July  29, 
1621,  which  was  "printed  at  Altmore  by  M.  H. "  ;  August  2, 
1621,  "Imprinted  by  Broyer  Johnson  Corantere  to  his 
Excellency"  (note  the  changes  in  spelling  here)  ;  August  9, 
1621,  entitled  "News  from  the  Low  Countries,  or  a  Courant 
from  the  Low  Countries,  or  a  Courant  out  of  Bohemia, 
Poland,  Germanic,  &c.  Printed  at  Amsterdam  by  loris 
Veseler";  August  10,  1621,  "imprinted  at  the  Hage  by 


134  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Adrian  Clarke";  September  6,  1621;  September  12,  1621; 
another  of  the  same  date  as  the  preceding;  September  18, 
1621;  one  dated  September  24,  1621,  is  styled  "Corante, 
or,  News  from  Italy,  Germany,  Hungarie,  Spaine  and 
France.  1621.  London.  Printed  for  N.  B.  *  *  *  Out  of 
Hie  Dutch  Coppy  printed  at  Franckford" — perhaps  the 
"Franckfurter  Zeitung";  September  30,  1621,  which  be- 
came ''Corante,  or  Weekely  Newes";  October  2,  1621; 
October  6,  1621 ;  October  11,  1621 ;  October  22,  1621. 

The  last  six  were  all  printed  in  London  from  "the 
Dutch,"  "the  Hie  Dutch"  or  "the  High  Dutch  Coppy" 
or  "copy"  as  suited  the  whim  of  the  printer. 

With  the  outbreak  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in  1618  the 
demand  for  information  of  its  progress  became  so  keen  that 
Abraham  Verhoeven  of  Antwerp  commenced  the  publication 
of  a  small  quarto  News  Letter  in  1619.  This  consisted  of 
eight  pages,  and  was  issued  with  the  approval  of  the 
Church.  Ultimately  it  became  known  as  the  "Gazette  of 
Antwerp." 

The  following  brief  extracts  will  serve  to  show  the  char- 
acter of  the  "Newes"  provided  by  the  English  papers: 

From  Collen  the  28th  of  July  1621 

Some  fewe  dayes  past,  there  came  to  Collen  a  holy  Italian 
Frier  of  the  Woldoenders  order  of  the  Cormelites,  whom  the 
common  people  judgeth  to  be  a  Prophet,  because  that  hee  had 
fore-told  the  Victory  of  the  Emperor  against  the  King  of 
Bohemia,  and  obtained  it  by  his  fervent  prayers. 

He  is  here  received  with  so  great  devotion,  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  relate  it,  because  that  thorough  the  great  presse 
of  people,  hee  could  not  get  with  his  Horse-litter  through  the 
streetes  of  the  Citie,  whereupon  some  rubbed  their  Beads  to  his 
garments,  others  cut  small  peaces  of  his  holy  Cowle,  and  he 
that  might  kisse  his  hand,  esteemed  himselfe  most  happy. 


ENGLISH:   ITS   GROWTH  135 

In  summa,  all  those  that  were  creeple,  deafe,  blinde,  dumbe, 
and  diseased  came  running  to  him,  who  in  time  may  yet  be 
cured.  Our  Elector,  having  knowledge  of  his  arrival  came  sud- 
denly to  him,  who  with  great  intreatings  got  the  staffe  of  the 
holy  man. 

From  Venice  the  10th  op  August  1621 

The  famous  Pirate,  Samson,  hath  desyred  of  this  Seigniory, 
a  free  incoming  with  all  his,  and  as  some  thinck :  for  to  inhabite 
to  Pola  in  Istria:  upon  which  condition  he  offers  to  this 
Seigniory  36.  wel  armed  shipps  with  one  million  of  gold  for  a 
gift  against  tyme  of  need:  more-over  two  millions  of  gold,  for 
ten  in  the  hondert,  besides  other  conditions:  the  Secretary 
Ancelay  hath  already  commission  to  treate  with  him  of  these 
things. 

The  foregoing  affords  a  fair  idea  of  the  beginnings  of  the 
English  weekly  newspaper  which  was  first  published  irregu- 
larly from  December  2,  1620,  to  August,  1621,  but  which 
appeared  every  week  from  September  6,  1621.  Prior  to 
this  time  the  publication  of  pamphlets,  religious  and  politi- 
cal, and  therefore  more  or  less  controversial  in  character, 
had  helped  to  spread  the  language,  but  in  popularity  the 
newspaper  soon  eclipsed  them. 

Under  Charles  II.  and  his  brother  James,  newspapers 
were  numerous.  ' '  The  London  Gazette, ' '  a  bi-weekly,  was  an 
official  and  political  journal,  which,  besides  containing  royal 
proclamations,  notices  of  promotion,  distribution  of  the 
forces,  political  addresses,  notices  of  cock-fights,  etc.,  gave 
such  items  of  foreign  news  as  reached  the  editor's  desk. 
But  this  was  the  organ  of  the  few;  the  "Newsletter"  was 
the  daily  of  the  masses.  At  that  time  the  coffee-houses 
were  the  chief  centers  of  information  and  to  them  people 
thronged  at  all  hours  of  the  day  to  learn  the  news.  Papers 
of  any  kind  were  scarce,  for  none  could  be  issued  without 


136  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

special  license  before  1694.  In  that  year  the  press  was 
freed  from  the  restrictions  which  had  been  placed  upon  its 
liberty,  and  it  thereafter  made  great  strides.  Newspapers 
increased  in  numbers  as  well  as  in  popularity,  and  as  these 
were  more  widely  read  their  influence  became  greater.  It 
was  due  to  this  that  another  check  was  placed  upon  them 
by  the  introduction  of  the  stamp  tax  in  1712.  This  tax  not 
only  required  a  half-penny  stamp  on  each  half  sheet,  and 
a  penny  stamp  on  every  whole  sheet,  but  in  addition  called 
for  the  payment  of  one  shilling  for  every  advertisement 
printed.  This  system  of  taxation  continued  until  June  9, 
1855,  when  "The  Illustrated  Times,"  the  first  English 
paper  published  without  a  stamp,  was  issued.  Its  editor, 
the  late  Henry  Vizetelly,  was  sued  by  the  Commissioner 
of  Inland  Revenue  for  penalties  amounting  to  £12,000, 
which,  acting  on  the  advice  of  Richard  Cobden  and  of  his 
counsel,  he  refused  to  pay.  The  repeal  by  Parliament  of 
the  impost  as  a  tax  on  knowledge  was  then  imminent,  and 
as  other  publishers,  following  the  example  set  them,  issued 
their  papers  without  stamps,  the  government  passed  a 
measure  abolishing  the  tax,  and  none  of  the  suits  instituted 
by  the  Commissioners  were  presented  for  trial. 

Periodicals  of  a  very  different  kind  preceded  this  illus- 
trated paper.  Two  years  after  Queen  Anne  ascended  the 
throne  of  England  the  first  English  serial  appeared  (1704). 
This  was  Defoe's  ''Review" — the  pioneer  of  English 
periodical  literature.  But  this  class  of  publication  was  not 
firmly  established  until  1709  when  "The  Tatler,"  a  tri- 
weekly sheet,  was  started  by  Richard  Steele.  Its  life  was 
brief — only  two  years — but  long  enough  to  bring  to  notice 
the  pleasing  and  eloquent  contributions  of  its  founder,  and 
of  his  schoolmate,  Joseph  Addison. 


ENGLISH:    ITS    GROWTH  137 

When  "The  Tatler"  passed  out  of  existence  Addison 
founded  **The  Spectator"  (1711)  ;  and  with  his  contribu- 
tions raised  it  to  the  highest  rank  among  the  English 
classics.  The  immense  popularity  of  this  periodical  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  its  contributions  were  free  from 
political  partizanship,  and  were  the  means  of  disseminating 
judicious  teachings  in  manners,  morals,  and  literary  criti- 
cism. To  them  was  largely  due  the  elevation  of  public 
taste  and  the  higher  standard  of  thought  attained  thereby. 
Following  "The  Spectator"  there  appeared  at  different 
intervals  during  the  eighteenth  century  "The  Gentleman's 
Magazine,"  "The  Guardian,"  and  "The  Rambler"— the 
last  a  bi-weekly  first  issued  in  1750,  with  which  Samuel 
Johnson's  name  is  inseparably  associated,  as  he  contributed 
the  greater  part  of  the  essays  which  appeared  in  its  pages. 
The  life  of  "The  Rambler"  was  of  short  duration — ^the  last 
number  appeared  in  March,  1752 ;  but  six  years  later  John- 
son founded  * '  The  Idler, ' '  and  resumed  the  post  of  essayist. 
Of  this  periodical,  which  was  written  in  lighter  vein  than 
its  predecessor,  only  103  numbers  appeared.  The  standard 
of  English  which  these  journals  established  was  a  high  one, 
and  with  the  development  of  journalism  it  has  been  im- 
proved until  it  has  reached  the  high-water  mark  of  purity 
which  characterizes  the  quality  of  English  used  in  the  repu- 
table journals  of  our  day. 

The  development  of  the  printing-press  has  proved  a  most 
potent  factor  in  the  dissemination  of  literature  of  all  kinds, 
and  in  the  consequent  spread  of  the  language.  In  the 
development  of  the  language  the  press — daily,  and  period- 
ical— the  almanacs,  annuals,  keepsakes,  and  garlands — all 
have  helped  to  elevate  the  tone  of  thought  and  that  of 
speech.     This  improvement  has  been  secured    gradually. 


138  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

almost  unconsciously,  by  the  labor  of  years,  and  the  process 
of  purification  still  continues.  Every  year  a  large  army 
of  new  words  endeavors  to  find  a  permanent  home  in  the 
language.  Some  of  the  words  are  of  sterling  quality; 
others  are  decrepit  or  discarded  words  which  some  writers 
have  endeavored  to  revivify;  others  which  knock  for  ad- 
mission are  colloquialisms  or  slang.  They  must  all  be  tried 
in  the  furnace  of  usage,  and  tested  in  the  melting-pot  of 
human  experience ;  those  that  survive  these  tests  are  given 
place  in  the  great  lexicons  while  the  others,  discarded,  are 
thrown  into  the  scrap-heap.  Such  is  the  condition  of  the 
language  to-day  that  the  process  of  its  refinement  must  ever 
be  as  '*a  continuous  performance." 

"Within  the  limits  assigned  to  this  volume,  it  is  not  possi- 
ble to  include  biographical  notices  of  the  principal  British 
and  American  authors  of  the  Modern  Period,  for  this  would 
necessitate  the  inclusion  of  several  hundreds  of  these. 
Each  decade  has  produced  writers  whose  influence  has  been 
felt  in  various  directions  and  whose  contributions  to  litera- 
ture have  helped  to  improve  or  embellish  the  language. 
For  a  list  of  authors,  their  dates  of  birth  and  death,  and 
their  principal  works,  see  Appendix. 


Ill 


Some  Mutations  of  Form  and  Sense 

The  study  of  the  English  language  brings  to  light  many 
curiosities  in  spelling  and  of  expression.  Derived  as  it  is 
from  various  sources  and  receiving  as  it  has  many  accre- 
tions in  its  progress  it,  more  than  any  other  language,  is 
the  sport  of  whim  and  caprice,  and  therefore,  it  is  still  far 
from  being  completely  grammaticized.  Modes  of  speech 
which  were  treated  with  contempt  as  evidences  of  vulgarity, 
lack  of  education,  or  as  mere  colloquial  barbarisms,  by 
past  generations,  are  in  the  main  permitted  to  pass  as 
of  sterling  value  when  it  is  shown  that  they  are  supported 
by  the  usage  of  writers  of  reputable  English.  To-day  the 
sneer  of  the  pedant  is  rebutted  by  the  printed  authority 
of  established  forms.  But  the  language  of  every  country 
is  just  as  subject  to  change  as  are  its  inhabitants  and  their 
dress  and  their  environment.  "All  languages  which  are 
vulgar  (or  living  languages)  are  subject  to  so  many  alter- 
ations," said  Bishop  Wilkins,  "that  in  tract  of  time  they 
will  appear  to  be  quite  another  thing  than  they  were  at 
first.  Every  change  is  a  gradual  corruption,  partly  by 
refining  and  mollifying  old  words  for  the  more  easy  and 
graceful  sound.  "^ 

As  it  was  governed  in  the  past  so  orthography  is  governed 
in  the  present  by  standards  established  by  the  literary  world 
of  its  time.     Consequently,  forms  that  were  accepted  as 

'  Bishop  John  Wilkins,  "Real  Character,"  p.  6. 

139 


140  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

correct  at  the  beginning  of  one  century  may  be  discarded 
as  incorrect  before  the  dawn  of  another.  To-day  we  write 
public,  music,  physic,  yet  our  grandfathers  and  their  con- 
geners wrote  puhlick,  musick,  physick,  and  their  great- 
grandfathers wrote  puilicke,  physicke,  musicke.  Innova- 
tions of  spelling  seldom  secure  general  approval  even  though 
they  may,  after  all,  be  but  steps  back  to  older  forms  for 
the  sake  of  simplicity,  the  differences  existing  between 
American  and  English  spellings  excepted;  for,  when  a  na- 
tion of  one  hundred  million  souls  uses  the  same  forms,  it 
may  be  said  that  these  forms  have  secured  general  approval. 
It  is  more  than  strange  that  in  a  country  so  progressive 
in  almost  everything  as  the  United  States,  the  efforts  to 
advance  the  language  to  a  more  efficient  form  in  orthog- 
raphy have  made  so  little  headway.  It  is  true  that  some 
headway  has  been  made,  and  that  at  least  50,000  persons 
are  now  using  simpler  forms  of  spelling,  but  when  one 
considers  that  the  efforts  to  introduce  these  forms  have 
taken  nearly  fifty  years,  the  advance  must  be  characterized 
as  "slow."  To  illustrate  that  innovations  of  the  kind  are 
sometimes  fraught  with  serious  consequences,  Thomas 
Fuller^  once  told  the  experience  of  an  under-clerk  in  the 
royal  household  of  his  time.  This  unhappy  being  was 
threatened  with  a  summons  before  the  tribunal  of  the 
Board  of  the  Green-cloth  to  answer  for  the  crime  of  having 
written  the  term  sinapi  (mustard)  as  it  ought  to  be  spelled, 
in  his  official  accounts,  contrary  to  the  style  established  by 
the  Court,  which  for  time  immemorial  had  been  cinapi! 

Concerning   the   standards   established    at    Court,     the 
French  etymologist  Menage^  relates  that  in  the  reign  of 

*  Fuller's  "Church  History,"  bk.   iv,  p.  150. 

'  "Menagiana,"  Vol.   IV.,  p.  3    (Am.sterdani,   1716). 


SOME    MUTATIONS    OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        141 

Louis  XIV.  this  monarch  expressed  his  royal  displeasure 
at  the  frequent  use  of  the  words  gros  and  grosse  (Anglice, 
"big,"  **fat,"  "great,"  or  "gross")  in  such  phrases  as 
"un  gros  plaisir";  "une  grosse  qualite";  "une  grosse 
beaute,"  etc.  He  feared,  it  was  said,  lest  he,  who  had  for 
some  time  been  styled  Louis  le  Grand,  might  at  another  time 
be  styled  Louis  le  Gros.  It  was  left  to  the  adroit  Boileau 
to  point  out  to  the  King  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that 
the  world  would  ever  think  of  Louis  le  Gros  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  le  Grand! 

But  it  is  with  the  vagaries  of  English  words  rather  than 
with  those  that  exist  in  the  French  that  we  are  concerned, 
and,  perhaps  the  best  suited  to  do  service  at  the  outset  is  the 
English  word  old.  If  Shakespeare's  text  may  be  taken  as 
mirroring  the  English  of  his  time  this  word  meant  "great" 
then,  as  well  as  "aged."  In  the  "Merry  Wives  of  Wind- 
sor" (act  i,  sc.  4),  we  find  "Here  will  be  an  old  abusing 
of  God's  patience  and  the  King's  English."  Again,  in 
"Much  Ado  About  Nothing"  (act  v,  sc.  2),  "Tender's  old 
coil  at  home."  He  was  so  familiar  with  the  force  of  the 
word  that  he  made  a  play  upon  it  in  the  "Taming  of  the 
Shrew"  (act  iii,  sc.  1).  Here  Grumio  enters  and  shouts, 
"News,  old  news,  and  such  news  as  you  never  heard  of!" 
But  Baptista  asks,  "Is  it  new  and  old  too?  How  should 
that  be?" 

Of  the  abundance  of  quaint  forms  that  have  come  down 
to  us  Shakespeare  has  preserved  many.  In  '  *  All 's  Well  that 
Ends  Well"  (act  v,  sc.  3),  he  wrote  "necessityecZ,"  while 
in  "Richard  II."  (act  ii,  sc.  2)  he  is  credited  with  "Is  all 
wnpossible."  "f/wpartial"  for  "impartial"  was  used  by 
his  contemporaries.  The  privative  im-  in  the  place  of  un- 
is  a  modern  refinement.     Again,  Shakespeare  used  "com- 


142  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

mandement"  as  in  the  ** Merchant  of  Venice"  (act  iv,  sc.  1), 
"Be  valued  'gainst  your  wife's  commandement,"  and  in 
"Henry  VI."  (pt.  I.,  act  i,  sc.  3),  "From  him  I  have  ex- 
press commandement. " 

A  hundred  years  ago  such  forms  as  pastes  and  posteses 
for  "posts"  were  common.  They  still  survive  in  the  speech 
of  the  Sussex  farm-hands,  the  writer  having  heard  them 
frequently  during  a  prolonged  sojourn  in  that  English 
county.  Akin  to  these  in  form  are  ghostes  and  ghosteses; 
heastes  and  beasteses.  These  words  are  ancient  plural 
forms  preserved  by  old  Scottish  writers,  as  in  Gawin 
Douglas's  translation  of  Vergil.  The  form  mystes  for 
"mists"  was  used  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  seventeenth 
century.  As  to  posteses,  ghosteses,  and  heasteses,  these 
are  redundancies.  The  elision  of  the  "e"  in  other  forms 
is  a  refinement  of  late  date.  In  the  early  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century  "Portingal"  was  a  London  corruption 
for  "Portugal."  When  Portuguese  currency  was  common 
in  England,  the  Londoner  carried  '* Portingal  pieces"  in  his 
pocket.  According  to  Holinshed  and  Stowe,  the  word  was 
written  Portingale,  but  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  (1607) 
spelled  it  Portingalls} 

Another  curious  form  is  mar  gent  for  "margin."  It  is 
used  by  Milton  in  "Comus"  and  by  Gray  in  his  "Prospect 
of  Eton  College."  Shakespeare  also  used  it  in  "Love's 
Labor's  Lost"  (act  ii,  sc.  1)  ;  "A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream"  (act  ii,  sc.  2),  and  in  "Hamlet"  (act  v,  sc.  2). 
But  in  "Romeo  and  Juliet"  (act  i,  sc.  3)  we  find  the  form 
"margin." 

The  words  respectfully  and  respectively  were  interchange- 
able in  the  late  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.     In 

*  Lodge's   "Illustrations  of  English  History,"   III,  p.   348. 


SOME    MUTATIONS   OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        143 

"Timon  of  Athens"  (act  iii,  sc.  1)  we  find  LucuUus  address- 
ing one  of  Timon's  servants  thus  familiarly:  "Flaminius, 
honest  Flaminius,  you  are  very  respectively  welcome,  Sir." 
Again,  in  the  "Merchant  of  Venice"  (act  v,  sc.  1)  we  have 
Nerissa,  Portia's  waiting-maid,  chiding  Gratiano  in  these 
words, 

You  swore  to  me,  when  I  did  give  it  you, 
That  you  would  wear  it  till  your  hour  of  death : 
And  that  it  should  lie  with  you  in  your  grave: 
Though  not  for  me,  yet  for  your  vehement  oaths, 
You  should  have  been  respective,  and  have  kept  it. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  in  each  instance  the  words  are  put 
into  the  mouths  of  a  serving-man  and  maid.  Curious  with 
the  sense  of  "nice,"  "severe,"  and  "scrupulously  exact," 
is  recorded  by  Dr.  Johnson  in  his  Dictionary.  It  occurs  in 
the  "Taming  of  the  Shrew"  (act  iv,  sc.  4),  where  Vincentio, 
pleading  the  "weighty  cause  of  love"  between  Bianca  and 
Lucentio  to  Baptista,  says : 

For  curious  I  can  not  be  with  you, 
Signior  Baptista,  of  whom  I  hear  so  well. 

In  "King  Lear"  (act  i,  sc.  2),  curiosity  is  used  to  mean 
"scrupulousness,"  as  when  Edmund  Gloster's  natural  son, 
asks: 

.    .    .  Wherefore  should  I 
Stand  in  the  plague  of  custom,  and  permit 
The  curiosity  of  nations  to  deprive  me 
For  that  I  am  some  twelve  or  fourteen  moonshines 
Lag  of  a  brother? 

Discommode  was  permissible  for  ''incommode"  in  John- 
son's time;  so,  also,  were  discommodious  and  discommodity 
for  "incommodious"  and  "incommodity."    But  of  the  two 


144  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

privatives,  dis  seems  the  more  emphatic.  Colleague  as  a 
verb  occurs  in  ** Hamlet"  (act  i,  sc.  2,  line  21),  and  found 
favor  with  Johnson  who  noted  it  in  his  Dictionary, 

Forms  which  we  condemn  in  general  to-day,  and  rule 
out  of  court  as  violations  of  the  verbal  code,  were  at  one 
time  common.  The  double  negative,  for  instance,  dates 
from  Chaucer's  time — 

So  lowely,  ne  so  trewely  yow  serve 
Nyl  non  of  'hem  as  I  shal  til  I  sterve. 

Troylus  and  Cryseyde,  lib.   v,  st.  25. 

Shakespeare  and  Roger  Ascham  both  made  use  of  it;  the 
first,  frequently,  as  in  "Romeo  and  Juliet"  (act  iv,  sc.  1), 

...  a  sudden  day  of  joy 
That  thou  expect 'st  not,  nor  I  look'd  not  for. 

The  second,  in  '  *  Toxophilus,  "^  where  he  makes  use  of  the 
expression,  *'No,  nor  I  think  I  never  shall."  Pope's  "Epi- 
taph of  P.P.,"  the  parish  clerk,  contains  an  example  of 
this  use  in  a  derisive  couplet  from  his  pen : 

Do  all  we  can,  Death  is  a  man 
Who  never  spareth  none. 

The  double  negative  was  a  form  once  commonly  used  to 
emphasize  the  thought  expressed.  In  the  Saxon  tongue 
this  idea  was  carried  often  beyond  the  double  to  the  triple, 
and  even  occasionally  to  the  quadruple,  negative.  Worser, 
now  characterized  in  the  "New  Standard  Dictionary"  as 
"usually  regarded  as  a  vulgarism  though  sometimes  used 
by  the  best  writers,"  is  one  of  the  forms  used  by  Shake- 
speare and  Dryden.  "Let  thy  worser  spirit  tempt  me 
again"  wrote  the  former  in  "King  Lear"  (act  iv,  sc.  6)  ; 

•Page  123   (Bennett's  ed). 


SOME    MUTATIONS    OF    FORM    AND    SENSE         145 

the  latter,  we  must  credit  with  '  *  and  worser  far  than  arms. ' ' 
Lesser  as  an  adverb  for  "less"  is  another  comparative  that 
may  be  found  in  Shakespeare — 

I  think  there's  ne'er  a  man  in  Christendom, 
Can  lesser  hide  Lis  love  or  hate  than  he. 

Richard  III.,  act  iii,  sc.  4. 

There  are  still  other  forms  of  expression,  at  one  time  in 
good  use,  that  strike  us  as  odd  to-day.  One's  ear  rebels 
instantly  at  more  tetter,  more  happier,  more  sharper,  most 
basest,  etc.,  yet  during  the  Elizabethan  era  they  passed  as 
good  English.  So  much  can  be  found  in  Shakespeare  that 
is  of  interest  to  the  student  of  English  that  one  may  draw 
at  will  from  his  writings  for  illustration,  as  of  these  uses. 
In  "The  Tempest"  (act  i,  sc.  2),  we  find  "nor  that  I  am 
more  better  than  Prospero";  in  "Henry  V."  (act  iii,  sc.  5), 
"more  sharper  than  your  swords,"  and  in  the  same  play 
(act  V,  sc.  7),  "ne'er  from  France  arrived  more  happier 
men,"  also  in  "Richard  II."  (act  ii,  sc.  1),  "the  envy  of 
less  happier  lands. ' ' 

Super-superlatives,  once  in  frequent  use,  constitute  an- 
other form  of  expression  which  survives,  but  only  in  certain 
combinations  to-day.  In  the  Psalms,  the  form  "Most 
Highest"  is  used  as  an  expression  of  great  force  that  may 
be  properly  applied  to  the  Divinity.  St.  Paul,  according 
to  the  language  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (ch.  xxvi,  verse 
5),  says,  "after  the  most  straitest  sect  of  our  religion  I 
lived  a  Pharisee. ' '  Such  super-superlatives  as  most  perfect, 
most  excellent,  etc.,  to  which  many  persons  take  exception 
to-day,  enjoy  a  very  reputable  sponsorship.  None  who 
know  their  Shakespeare  can  forget  Antony's  characteriza- 
tion of  the  blow  "the  well-beloved"  Brutus  dealt— "This 


146  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

was  the  most  unkindest  cut  of  all !  "^  In  * '  Cymbeline"  (act 
i,  sc.  7),  we  find  "most  perfect  goodness"  used  by  lachimo 
in  addressing  Imogen  concerning  Leonatus.  Ben  Jonson, 
quoting  Sir  Thomas  More,  in  his  "  Grammar '"^  cites  more 
readier  and  most  basest  as  examples  of  the  usage  of  his 
time,  and  then,  as  if  to  show  the  uncertainty  of  his  position, 
characterizes  the  sentence  in  which  they  occur  as  "a  certain 
kind  of  English  Atticism  .  .  .  imitating  the  manner  of  the 
most  ancient  est  .  .  .Grecians."  John  Lyly,  acknowledged 
as  a  purist  in  his  day,  made  use  of  "most  brightest,"  and  to 
this  we  may  add  two  more  from  Shakespeare,  most  boldest 
("Julius  Cffisar,"  act  iii,  sc,  1)  and  most  heaviest  ("Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona, ' '  act  iv,  sc.  3 ) . 

At  the  time  that  Nathan  Bailey  was  compiling  his  Dic- 
tionary, the  word  "tax"  was  task,  and  a  pretty  heavy 
"task"  it  proved  later,  as  it  has  since  to  some  of  us,  to 
pay  it.  Bailey,  in  the  earlier  editions  of  his  work,  defined 
task  as  "a  pecuniary  tribute"  as  well  as  "a  duty  per- 
formed." Holinshed  says  "There  was  a  new  and  strange 
subsidie  or  taske  granted  to  be  levied  for  the  King's  use." 
In  old  leases  certain  monetary  charges  were  called  taskes. 
Cullum  in  his  "History  of  Ilawsted"^  cites  a  lease  made 
in  1580  in  which  the  term  used  is  task,  but  in  another  one, 
dated  1589,  the  charge  is  contracted  to  tax.  Shakespeare 
("Henry  IV.,"  pt.  I,  act  iv,  sc.  3),  helped  to  prove  that 
tax  is  a  perversion  of  task,  for  he  makes  Hotspur  reproach 
King  Henry  with  having  "tasked  the  whole  state." 

Sometimes  one  hears  of  persons  who  take  pride  in  saying 
that  the  English  of  Shakespeare  and  of  Milton  is  "good 

•  "Julius  Caesar,"  act  iii,  sc.  2,  1.  185. 
'Page  127  (A.  V.  Waite's  Ed.  1909). 
8  Pages   233,   235. 


SOME    MUTATIONS   OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        147 

enough  for  us,"  on  the  assumption  that  the  writings  of 
these  great  lights  of  bygone  ages  are  free  from  error. 
Unfortunately,  neither  Shakespeare  nor  Milton  were  Super- 
men, but  being  heirs  to  all  the  weakness  that  man  is  heir 
to  they  erred  even  as  other  men  have  done.  The  "Swan 
of  Avon"  used  took  for  "taken";  mistook  for  "mistaken" 
and  overtook  for  "overtaken."  In  "Henry  IV."  (pt.  II, 
act  i,  sc.  1),  we  find,  "and  in  his  flight  stumbling  in  fear 
was  took";  and  in  "Henry  VI."  (pt.  I,  act  i,  sc.  1),  "He 
lives:  but  is  took  prisoner."  Mistook  used  for  "mistaken" 
may  be  found  in  "Henry  IV,"  (pt.  II,  act  4,  sc.  2),  in 
"Twelfth  Night"  (act  v,  sc.  1)  and  in  "Love's  Labor's 
Lost"  (act  iii,  sc.  1).  Milton  wrote  "to  be  mistook"  in 
"Arcades,"  and  forsook  instead  of  "forsaken"  in  "II 
Penseroso"  and  "Samson  Agonistes,"  and  Pope  in  his 
"Odyssey": 

"Forsook  by  thee,  in  vain  I  sought  thy  aid." 

Among  others  Swift,  Bentley,  and  Prior  are  also  charged 
with  using  mistook  for  "mistaken."^ 

Other  quaint  forms  are  rose  and  arose  for  "risen"  and 
"arisen."  To  Swift  we  owe  "the  sun  has  rose";  to  Prior, 
"have  rose";  to  Dryden  on  "Oliver  Cromwell,"  "have 
arose";  and  to  Shakespeare,  "are  arose"  ("Comedy  of 
Errors,"  act  v,  1.  388).  Gay  in  his  third  fable  used  hefel 
for  "befallen" — "Sure  some  disaster  has  hefel" — and 
Prior,  in  his  most  ambitious  work,  wrote  "he  should  have 
fell"  ("Solomon,"  bk.  iii). 

Bishop  Lowth,  in  his  "Introduction  to  English  Gram- 
mar" (p.  606),  pointed  out  that  many  of  our  best  and 
classical  authors  have  written  wrote  for  "written."     He 

•  Lowth's   "Intro,   to   English   Grammar."   p.   108. 


148  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

names  among  these  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Dryden,  Claren- 
don, Prior,  Swift,  Bolingbroke,  Bentley,  Atterbury,  and 
Addison. 

The  forms  of  the  past  tense  of  certain  English  verbs 
have  been  the  cause  of  some  distraction.  These  forms 
seem  to  be  more  firmly  established  to-day  than  they  were 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  yet  one  dare  not  predict  what 
a  day  may  bring  forth.  Thus  spake  the  Duke  of  Exeter 
to  his  nephew,  King  Henry  V.,  of  that  monarch's  cousin, 
the  Duke  of  York: 

Upon  these  words  I  came  and  cheer'd  him  up: 
He  smil'd  me  in  the  face,  raught  me  his  hand.^" 

Here  we  have  raught  as  the  past  tense  of  reach.  In 
"Romeo  and  Juliet"  (act  iv,  sc.  3)  and  "Richard  III." 
(act  iii,  sc.  5)  distraught  is  used  for  "distracted,"  and 
in  "Henry  VI."  (pt.  Ill,  act  ii,  se.  2)  extraught  for 
"derived"  or  "extracted" — 

Sham'st  thou  not,  knowing  whence  thou  art  extraught, 
To  let  thy  tongue  detect  thy  base-bom  heart? 

O'er-raught  is  another  form  that  found  favor  with 
Shakespeare : 

Upon  my  life,  by  some  device  or  other 
The  villain  is  o'er-raught  of  all  my  money .^^ 

The  changes  that  have  been  wrought  in  the  orthography 
of  these  words  were  effected  gradually  and  are  modern 
refinements.  Judged  by  the  following  it  would  seem 
that  Milton  did  not  favor  the  use  of  participial  inflections. 

'"  Shakespeare   "King  Henry  V,"  act  iv,   sc.   6. 
"  "Comedy   of    Errors,"    act    i,    sc.    2. 


SOME    MUTATIONS   OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        149 

.  .   .  But  I  recover  breath, 
And  sense  distract,  to  know  well  what  I  utter. 
Samson  Agonistes,  i,  1555. 

Who  ever,  by  consulting  at  thy  shrine. 
Returned  the  wiser,  or  the  more  instruct 
To  fly  or  follow  what  concerned  him  most. 

Paradise  Regained,  bk.  i,  1.  438. 

What  I  can  do  or  offer  is  suspect. 

Paradise  Regained,  bk.  ii,  1.  399. 

Among  the  quaint  idioms  that  have  come  down  to  us  one, 
which  seems  to  have  passed  out  of  literary  use  or  common 
speech  (except  perhaps  in  some  provincial  dialect),  is  fetch 
a  walk,  sometimes  rendered  also  fetch  a  turn,  and  often 
expressed  only  by  the  word  fetch.  John  Palsgrave  is  cited 
by  Sir  James  Murray^'^  as  authority  for  **I  fetche  a  gam- 
bolde  or  a  fryske  in  daunsyng."  In  "Cymbeline"  the 
Queen  says: 

I'll  fetch  a  turn  about  the  garden,  pitying 
The  pangs  of  barr'd  affections.^^ 

And  in  the  "Merchant  of  Venice,"  Lorenzo,  addressing 
himself  to  Jessica,  explains  the  power  of  music  on 

...  a  wild  and  wanton  herd 
Or  race  of  youthful  and  unhandled  colts, 
Fetching  mad  bounds.^^ 

The  Genius  of  the  Wood,  in  Milton's  ** Arcades"  tells  us 
that 

When  evening  grey  doth  rise,  I  fetch  my  round 
Over  the  mount,  and  all  this  hallowed  ground.^** 

"  New  English  Dictionary,  Vol.   IV.   g.v.  '*  Act  v,   sc.  1,  1.  71. 

"  Act   i,   sc.   2.  "  Lines  54,  55, 


150  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  winding  courses  of  a  river  were  called  fetches  and  the 
rivers  fetched  windings,  as  is  shown  by  reference  to  Hol- 
land's translation  of  Pliny  (i,  108)  "The  riuer  .  .  . 
fetcheth  such  windings  to  and  fro"^®;  or  to  Benjamin 
Martin's  "Natural  History  of  England"  (i,  213),  "the 
river  fetches  a  large  winding. ' '" 

But  it  was  left  to  the  Scotsman  from  Lanark  who  walked 
himself  into  celebrity  by  covering  over  thirty-six  thousand 
miles  through  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  to  write  of  fetching 
a  walk.  William  Lithgow,  born  in  1683,  in  his  "Rare 
Adventures  and  Painful  Peregrinations  of  long  Nineteen 
Years  Travayles,  etc.,"  explains^*  that  "I  would  often 
fetch  a  walk,  to  stretch  my  legs."  In  view  of  the  great 
distance  he  covered,  one  may  be  permitted  to  indulge  the 
thought  that  stretching  his  legs  must  have  been  Lithgow 's 
particular  hobby.  If  we  credit  Congreve's  and  Mrs. 
Delany 's  use  of  it,  the  phrase  was  a  provincialism  that  found 
its  way  into  literature  through  popular  use.  In  Con- 
greve's comedy  "The  "Way  of  the  World,"  Sir  William 
Witwou'd,  addressing  a  lady  of  rank  in  the  vernacular, 
says :  "  If  that  how  you  were  disposed  to  fetch  a  walk  this 
evening,  and  if  so  be  that  I  might  not  be  troublesome  I 
would  have  faught^^  a  walk  with  you."  In  Mrs.  Delany 's 
"Autobiography,"^*^  written  in  1758,  we  learn  that  "accord- 
ing to  the  country  phrase,  yesterday  Sally  and  I  fetched  a 
charming  walk."  Southey  in  his  correspondence  with 
Bowles  wrote  (1829)  :  "I  shall  ...  in  vulgar  English, 
fetch  a  walk,"  and  Thackeray,  in   "The    Virginians, "^^ 

"1601.  "1759.  "ch.  V,  p.  205. 

"  In   some  editions  rendered   "fought."      See  act  iv,   sc.  4. 

»  Edition  of  1861,  Vol.  III.,  p.  508. 

«  Edition  of  1859,   Vol.   I.,   p.  364. 


SOME    MUTATIONS    OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        151 

"Mr.  Warrington  .    ,    .  was  gone  to  fetch  a  walk  in  the 
moonlight. ' ' 

Odd  as  learn  for  "teach"  may  sound  to  the  unaccustomed 
ear,  time  was  when  such  use  was  approved  as  good  English, 
and  although  it  is  condemned  by  the  heau  monde  as  a  vul- 
garism, and  a  sign  of  want  of  culture  among  those  who  use 
it,  yet  it  can  not  escape  the  devout  attendant  at  the  church 
service  of  the  Episcopal  or  Church  of  England  Communion. 
In  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  we  may  find  the  following 
in  the  Psalms  :^- 

"Lead  me  forth  in  thy  truth,  and  learn  me." 
"Them  shall  he  learn  his  way." 
"Oh,  learn  me  true  understanding." 

Among  the  reputable  authors  who  made  use  of  this  word 
now  stamped  as  vulgar  are  Wy cliff e    (Proverbs  ix,   7), 
"Who  lerneth  a  scorner  doth  wrong  he  to  himself"  (1382) 
Caxton  (1480)  ;  Miles  Coverdale  (1535)  ;  Spenser  (1590) 
Shakespeare   (1610)  ;  Bunyan   (1666)  ;    De    Foe    (1719) 
Richardson   (1742) ;  Mary  Wollstonecraft   (1792)  ;  Strutt 
(1801) ;  Coleridge  (1801)  ;  Disraeli  (1844),  and  Stevenson 
(1893).     Shakespeare  used  both    learn   and   teach   inter- 
changeably, as  in  "As  You  Like  It"  (act  i,  sc.  2),  where 
Rosalind,  speaking  to  Celia,  says:  "Unless  you  could  teach 
me  to  forget  a  banished  father,  you  must  not  learn  me  how 
to  remember  any  extraordinary  pleasure."     See  also  "The 
Tempest"  (act  ii,  sc.  2)  : 

You  taught  me  language  .   .   .  The  red  plague  rid  you 
For  learning  me  your  language ! 

Another  use  that  jars  the  sensitive  modem  eardrum  is 

«  XXV,  4  &  8 ;  cxix,   66. 


152  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

that  of  remember  in  the  sense  of  "remind"  or  "recollect," 
yet  among  its  sponsors  was  Chaucer,  who  used  it  in  the 
"Canterbury  Tales"  (See  Frankelyene's  Tale,  1.  515) : 

This  was  as  thise  bookes  me  remembre 
The  colde  frosty  seson  of  Decembre. 

Others  were  Shakespeare,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  Bishop 
Burnet,  the  authors  of  the  Paston  letters,  and  Sir  "Walter 
Scott.  We  may  find  this  use  in  the  "Edinburgh  Review" 
for  January,  1808  (p.  285)  where  the  reader  is  informed 
that  the  writer  "takes  care  to  remember  us  of  Dr.  Johnson's 
saying,"  Rossetti,  in  "Dante  and  his  Circle,"  issued  in 
1850,  referring  to  a  lady,  wrote:  "She  remembered  me 
many  times  of  my  own  most  noble  lady. ' '  Among  examples 
found  in  Shakespeare  are  the  following: 

I  must  remember  you,  my  Lord, 
We  were  the  first  and  dearest  of  your  friends. 
Henry  IV.,  pt.  I,  act  v,  sc.  1. 

Grief  fills  the  room  up  of  my  absent  child. 
Lies  in  his  bed  .   .   •  Remembers  me  of  all  his  graeious^^  parts. 

John,  act  iii,  sc.  4. 

It  doth  remember  me  the  more  of  sorrow. 

Richard  II.,  act  iii,  sc.  4. 

In  "Richard  III."  (act  ii,  sc.  2),  we  find  the  following 
playful  allusion: 

Now,  by  my  troth,  if  I  had  been  remembered, 
I  could  have  given  my  Uncle's  Grace  a  flout. 

Some  of  our  most  familiar  forms  of  expression  do  violence 
to  grammatical  rule,  yet  these  are  accepted  as  good  English 
because  they  have  come  down  to  us  supported  by  authorities 

*  Graceful. 


SOME    MUTATIONS    OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        153 

conceded  to  be  of  high  standard.  How  often  do  we  hear 
used  such  expressions  as  "let  him  do  it  himself,"  or  "let 
him  speak  for  himself"  in  which,  but  for  emphasis,  "him- 
self" is  redundant?  The  objective  case  has  often  been 
used  for  the  nominative,  but  we  are  none  the  worse  for  it. 
Who,  among  the  lovers  of  that  bulwark  of  our  Faith,  the 
Bible,  would  deny  us  these  anomalies? 

Whom  do  men  say  that  I  am? — Matt.  ch.  xvi,  verse  13. 

Whom  say  ye  that  I  amf — Ibid,  verse  15. 

Whom  think  ye  that  I  amf — Acts  xiii,  verse  25. 

Shakespeare,  Prior,  and  Dryden  may  be  quoted  as  writers 
who,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  mixed  their  forms. 
Witness  the  following : 

Art  thou  proud  yet? 
Aye,  that  I  am  not  thee  I 

— Timon  of  Athens,  act  iv,  sc.  3. 

Is  she  as  tall  as  mef — Antony  and  Cleopatra,  act  iii,  sc.  3. 

Prior  wrote  "That  which  once  was  thee,''  and  Dryden, 
"Time  was  when  none  would  cry,  that  oaf  was  me."  In 
Shakespeare's  "Henry  VI."  (pt.  II,  act  i,  sc.  2),  occurs 
the  line,  "Here's  none  but  thee  and  I,"  which  is  not  much 
worse  than  "between  yoii  and  /,"  a  form  which  one  hears 
repeatedly  every  day.  The  former  is  one  of  a  number  of 
like  forms  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  Shakespeare,  whose 
fame  has  not  been  dimmed,  nor  the  character  of  his  works 
marred  by  small  negligences  due,  perhaps,  to  inattention  to 
form  while  the  attention  itself  was  centered  on  the  theme. 
In  the  "Winter's  Tale,"-^  Queen  Hermione,  referring  to 
herself  and  her  attendants,  asks,  "We  are  yours  i'  the 

»«Act  i,  sc.  2. 


154  ESSENTIALS     OF     ENGLISH     SPEECH 

garden:  shall's  attend  you  there?"  In  " Othello, "2»  the 
Moor  accuses  Emilia  with  knowledge  of  the  supposed  in- 
trigue o-f  Cassio  with  Desdemona.  She  denies  it.  Then 
Othello  taxes  her  "Yes;  you  have  seen  Cassio  and  she  to- 
gether. ' ' 

The  need  for  a  personal  pronoun  of  the  third  person, 
singular  number,  and  common  gender  has  led  to  the  sug- 
gestion that  we  adopt  such  forms  as  heer  (that  is,  **he"  or 
' '  she  " ) ,  himer  ( that  is,  "  him  "  or  "  her  " ) ,  and  hiser  ( that 
is,  "his"  or  "hers").  These  forms  in  themselves  are 
uncouth.  To  the  modem  cultivated  eye  they  seem  repul- 
sive; their  appearance  seems  to  do  violence  to  the  genius 
of  the  language,  and  yet  like  forms  were  in  the  mouths  of 
the  common  people  a  century  ago ;  in  fact,  they  still  survive 
in  certain  English  dialects.  It  was  Dr.  "Wallis  who  observed 
that  while  some  people  say  her'n,  his'n,  our'n  and  your'n 
for  "hers,"  "his,"  "ours,"  and  "yours,"  nobody  would 
\VRiTE  such  barbarous  language.  From  the  "Progress  of 
Queen  Elizabeth, ' '  issued  in  1575,^®  we  learn  that  a  certain 
Keeper  of  the  Council  Chamber,  referring  to  another  dig- 
nitary, says  that  he  "after  praying  for  her  Majesty's  per- 
petual felicity,  finishes  with  the  humblest  subjection  both 
of  hi'm  and  Jiizzen!" 

Ourn  and  yourn  are  Saxon  pronouns  of  the  possessive 
case,  for  the  Saxon  ure  (our),  in  the  nominative,  has  for 
its  objective  ^irne,  and  the  Saxon  pronoun  eower  (your) 
gives  the  objective  eoiverne.  Nothing  is  needed  to  warrant 
the  use  of  them  but  a  mutation  of  case.  Side  by  side  with 
the  Saxon  possessive  pronouns  ourn  and  yourn,  there 
flourished  the  auxiliary  verbs  aron  (are)  and  wceron  (were), 

-'  Act  iv,  sc.  2. 
2«Vol.   I.,   p.    14. 


SOME    MUTATIONS    OF    FORM    AND    SENSE         155 

which  had  the  final  letter  of  both.  These  forms  have  been 
preserved  in  certain  of  our  old  writers.  But  when  the 
pronouns  were  discarded  for  ours  and  yours,  the  final  "n," 
supplanted  in  the  original  words  in  favor  of  "s,"  was  re- 
tained in  the  verbs,  for  am  (are)  and  weren  (were)  are 
found  in  Chaucer,  and  in  "Selections"  from  the  poems  of 
Thomas  Hoccleve  who  flourished  circa  1400,^^  It  is  true 
that  the  plural  endings  -n,  -an,  and  -en  are  out  of  general 
use,  except  as  in  "ox,"  '^oxen,"  but  they  have  not  been 
lost  for  they  still  survive  in  the  dialect  of  the  northern 
counties  of  England,  where  they  may  be  heard  in  use  by 
the  laboring  classes,  as,  for  example,  in  Derbyshire. 

Keivs  is  a  word  that  in  our  time  is  used  as  a  singular, 
and  other  parts  of  speech,  when  used  in  connection  with 
it,  must  agree  in  number.  Yet,  custom  makes  words  fa- 
miliar with  strange  bedfellows.  Although  we  say  "this 
news"  or  "that  news"  our  great-grandparents  said  ''these 
news"  and  ''those  news. ' '  Shakespeare  used  the  word  news 
in  the  singular  as  well  as  in  the  plural,  as  in  "Henry  VI." 
(pt.  II,  act  i,  sc.  4),  "Thither  go  these  news?"  and  again 
(pt.  I,  act  V,  sc.  2),  "These  news,  my  lords,  may  cheer  our 
drooping  spirits."  Roger  Ascham^^  wrote  "there  are 
news,"  and  used  the  forms  "many  news,"  "these  be  news 
to  you,  but  olds~^  to  that  country." 

Before  dismissing  the  subject,  allusion  may  be  made  to 
that  modern  bugbear  of  the  purists — the  split  infinitive. 
According  to  the  "Standard  Dictionary"  the  split  infinitive 
is  "an  infinitive  in  which  the  'to'  and  the  verb  are  separ- 
ated by  some  intervening  word,  usually  adverbial,  as  in 

"  See  Mason's  Edition,   1796. 

**  Ascham,   "English  Letters,"  Bennet's  Edition,  pp.  372,   374,  38-1. 

*»  Sec  references  to  old  in  this  chapter. 


156  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  phrase,  to  quickly  return."    On  a  misreading  of  the 

lines, 

What  ever  have  been  thought  on  in  this  state, 
That  could  be  brought  to  bodily  act  ere  Rome 
Had  circumvention?^" 

Shakespeare  has  been  charged  with  having  made  use  of 
this  form,  but  an  examination  of  the  text  shows  that  the 
charge  is  without  foundation.  In  the  sentence  cited  the 
word  act,  on  which  emphasis  is  put  to  prove  the  point,  is  a 
noun  not  a  verb.  Nevertheless,  when  it  suited  his  purpose 
to  use  a  past  participle  between  the  sign  of  the  infin- 
itive *'to"  and  the  auxiliary  verb  "be"  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  do  so,  as  in  his  * '  Sonnet  CLXII, ' '  where  he  wrote. 

Root  pity  in  thy  heart,  that  when  it  grows, 
Thy  pity  may  deserve  to  pitied  be. 

The  split  infinitive  proper  is  a  form  to  which  the  modern 
ear  is  not  accustomed,  hence  it  has  been  condemned.  But 
an  examination  of  our  literature  shows  that  it  not  only  has 
the  support  of  usage,  but  of  good  usage  through  centuries 
of  time.  Although  this  form  of  expression  is  a  violation  of 
the  canons  of  the  English  language  as  accepted  by  the 
purists,  it  may  be  permitted  because  it  has  received  the  sup- 
port of  literary  usage.  The  claim  made  by  some  writers 
that  not  a  grammar  in  existence  sanctions  the  split  infinitive 
is  not  proof  that  this  form  of  expression  has  no  right  in 
the  language.  Mason,  in  the  twenty-first  edition  of  his 
English  Grammar,  says:  "The  preposition  'to'  is  not  an 
essential  part  of  the  infinitive  mood  nor  an  invariable  sign 
of  it."     Another  eminent  grammarian^^  says:  "It  is  true 

**  "Coriolanus,"  act  i,   sc.  2. 

**  Goold  Brown,   "Grammar  of  English  Grammars,"  p.   661. 


SOME    MUTATIONS    OF    FORM    AND    SENSE        157 

that  the  adverb  is  in  general  more  elegantly  placed  before 
the  preposition  than  after  it,  but  the  latter  position  may 
sometimes  contribute  perspicuity,  which  is  more  essential 
than  elegance;  as,  *If  any  man  refuse  to  so  implore,  and 
to  so  receive  pardon  let  him  die  the  death.' — Fuller,  *0n 
the  Gospel,'  p.  209." 

In  considering  the  restrictions  within  which  the  gram- 
marians strive  to  confine  language,  we  should  remember 
that  the  language  came  first  and  that  its  codification  pro- 
duced the  grammar.  Ever  since  the  first  grammarian  laid 
down  the  rules,  others  have  set  out  to  correct  him.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  usage  has  adjusted  the  language  to  suit 
the  occasion.  Then,  why  characterize  the  split  infinitive  as 
an  outrage  on  the  English  language  ?  It  is  nothing  of  the 
sort ;  it  is  but  a  natural  arrangement  of  words  to  forcefully 
express  thought.  Byron  wrote,  *'To  slowly  trace  the 
forest's  shady  scene,"  and  on  this  account  was  dubbed  "the 
father  of  the  split  infinitive"  by  the  London  ** Academy"; 
but,  before  him.  Burns  wrote,  in  "The  Cotter's  Saturday 
Night,"  "Who  dared  to  nobly  stem  tyrannic  pride." 

Not  so  long  ago  Professor  John  Earle  spoke  of  the  split 
infinitive  as  "a  new  collocation,"  and  "a  most  astounding 
change  which  has  come  up  in  our  time";  but,  as  stated 
above,  it  is  not  the  modem  creation  it  is  commonly  believed 
to  be.  Professor  Lounsbury  has  found  numerous  examples 
of  it.  It  may  be  found  in  Massinger,  Wycliffe,  Donne,  Sir 
Thomas  Browne,  De  Foe,  Samuel  Johnson,  Burke,  Lamb, 
Macaulay,  Ruskin  and  Herbert  Spencer.  Earle,  although 
he  condemns  it  as  a  modern  collocation,  quotes  an  example 
of  it  which  occurs  in  Bishop  Pecock  (1450).  "Forto  there- 
with make."  It  occurs  also  in  Coleridge,  Matthew  Arnold, 
Browning,  Motley,  Lowell  and  Holmes. 


158  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

A  writer,  treating  this  subject  for  "The  Christian  Work 
and  Evangelist, ' '  said  appropriately :  ' '  Some  of  us  who  do  a 
little  writing  generally  avoid  the  split  infinitive.  But  it  is 
certain  that  one  can  not  prevent  others  from  using  it ;  and 
a  little  study  of  the  subject  shows  that  it  is  not  only  used 
by  some  of  the  best  writers,  but  that  a  violation  of  the  rule 
against  it  often  helps  perspicuity,  and  is  sometimes  almost 
necessary.  In  behalf  of  the  fracture  of  the  rule  we  may 
cite  the  phrase  justified  by  Professor  Lounsbury  'to  more 
than  counterbalance.'  To  say  of  the  result  of  an  act,  'it 
is  to  more  than  kill  her,  it  is  to  dishonor,'  is,  perhaps, 
stronger  than  to  say,  'it  is  more  than  to  kill.'  It  is  noted 
by  Professor  Brander  Matthews,  in  a  recently  published 
brochure,  that  the  split  infinitive  is  a  cause  of  pain  to  the 
purist  who  finds  George  H.  Lewis,  in  his  'Life  of  Goethe,' 
saying:  'To  completely  understand.'  This  inserting  of  an 
adverb  between  the  to  and  the  rest  of  the  verb,  strikes  the 
verbal  critic  as  pernicious,  yet  the  fact  remains  that  it  has 
been  in  constant  use  from  the  days  of  Wycliffe  to  Herbert 
Spencer.  The  split  infinitive,  in  fact,  has  a  most  respect- 
able pedigree,  and  it  is  rather  the  protest  against  its  use 
than  the  practise  itself  that  is  now  establishing  itself." 

Some  of  the  examples  that  are  recorded  here  show  that  no 
matter  how  much  we  may  revere  the  forms  that  have  come 
down  to  us  from  the  Ages,  we  can  not  afford  to  overlook 
the  age  in  which  we  live.  That  which  in  our  age  is  accepted 
as  reputable  English  is  sterling.  Just  as  we  progress  in 
culture,  so  does  the  language  which  we  speak  grow  with  us, 
sometimes  along  strictly  grammatical  lines  but,  often,  along 
lines  that  will  not  be  trammeled  by  grammar  no  matter  who 
the  grammarian  may  be. 


IV 


The  Foreign  Element  in  English  ^ 

When  some  of  us  speak  of  the  English  language  as  a 
language  we  are  prone  to  refer  to  it  proudly  as  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  tongue,  and  to  give  the  credit  of  its  making  to 
Geoffrey  Chaucer.  Why  we  persist  in  perpetuating  these 
anomalies  it  is  difficult  to  tell.  For,  of  the  great  mass  of 
words  in  the  so-called  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  which  pass  cur- 
rent to-day  as  English,  less  than  one-twentieth  are  entitled 
to  rank  as  Anglo-Saxon ;  and,  although  we  may  refer  with 
pride  to  Chaucer  as  the  "father  of  English  poetry,"  we 
should  not  forget  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
this  title  and  that  of  "maker  of  the  English  language.'' 
Long  before  Chaucer's  time  Anglo-Saxon  flourished,  and 
Anglo-Saxon  literature — although  scanty — reached  its 
prime  when  Alfred  the  Great  was  King  of  Wessex,  five 
hundred  and  twenty  years  before  Chaucer  wrote  his 
famous  "Canterbury  Tales." 

So  far  is  the  English  language  from  being  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  tongue  that  it  is  the  most  composite  language  known 
to-day.  In  none  other  do  foreign  words  play  so  important 
a  part,  and  by  none  other  have  they  been  assimilated  in 
so  great  a  number.  From  the  very  beginning  the  settlers 
on  Britain's  shores  forced  their  various  dialects  on  the 
natives  and  their  conquerors  were  not  slow  in  following 
this  example.     Therefore,  he  who  would  seek  the  sources 

*  Printed  in  part  in  "The  New  Age,"  October,  1913. 

159 


160  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

of  the  English  tongue  must  turn  to  the  rock-bound  coasts 
of  Albion  and  stroll  along  the  pleasant  English  lanes,  must 
tread  the  heather  of  the  Scottish  moorlands,  and  the  green 
fields  of  Erin.  He  must  travel  thence  to  the  land  of  the 
Vikings,  those  hardy  Norsemen  who  settled  on  Albion's 
shores  and  who,  for  centuries,  became  a  dominant  power 
in  that  land.  But  before  them  came  a,  mightier  host — ^the 
Romans — whose  rule  swayed  the  fortunes  of  Britain  for 
four  hundred  years  before  the  descent  of  the  Norsemen, 
and  left  some  trace,  however  slight,  upon  the  speech  of 
the  people.  So,  he  must  pass  through  France  to  reach 
the  Empire  of  the  Caesars  who  first  conquered  Gaul  and 
then  subdued  the  Britons. 

As  the  land  of  the  Angles  developed  so  the  speech  of 
the  people  grew,  and  he  who  wishes  to  seek  that  growth 
must  be  prepared  to  traverse  the  globe.  From  Scandi- 
navian fiords,  he  must  sail  to  the  shores  of  Denmark  and, 
journeying  over  these,  must  cross  the  frontier  and  pene- 
trate the  very  fastnesses  of  the  German  Fatherland.  Next 
his  steps  must  turn  to  the  flowery  fields  of  France  whence 
came  the  Norman  Conqueror,  and,  sauntering  along  its 
leafy  highways,  learn  from  his  surroundings  that  the  noble 
spires  which  dot  this  land,  have  their  very  counterpart  in 
the  cradle  of  the  English  tongue.  Even  here  his  journey 
is  far  from  ended.  From  the  shores  of  sunny  Spain  to  the 
lands  of  the  Great  White  Czar ;  from  the  Crescent  City  on 
the  Golden  Horn  to  the  coral  strands  of  India;  from  the 
land  of  the  Ibis  and  the  Lotus  to  the  sun-baked  veldt  of  the 
African  Union ;  from  the  golden  shores  of  Australia  to  the 
fertile  fields  of  New  Zealand ;  from  the  Land  of  the  Rising 
Sun  to  the  Land  of  the  Morning  Calm;  from  the  Flowery 
Republic  of  China  to  the  dreary  Siberian  steppes — from 


THE  FOREIGN   ELEMENT    IN   ENGLISH  161 

each,  from  every  one  has  English  speech  drawn  tribute. 
And  it  did  not  stop  there,  for  the  islands  that  dot  the 
Seven  Seas  have  all  contributed  to  its  needs,  and  nowhere 
has  it  been  fostered  more  tenderly;  nowhere  has  it  borne 
fruit  more  abundantly  than  on  the  continent  of  America. 

With  their  occupation  of  Britain  the  Danes  brought  their 
language  of  which,  although  it  was  but  a  dialect  of  the 
tongue  that  under  different  names  was  spoken  in  northern 
Europe,  some  traces  remain.  "With  the  advent  of  the 
Conqueror  came  Norman  French  and  Latin,  which  was 
continued  in  use  in  law  pleadings  and  statutes  until  dis- 
placed by  English  under  Edward  III.  Probably  the 
Lombards  introduced  a  few  of  the  Italian  words  that  are 
now  naturalized,  and  these  were  amplified  by  the  church- 
men that  went  to  England  from  Rome.  Others  were  added 
undoubtedly  by  merchants  trading  with  Italy  and  the 
Levant,  Of  modern  Italian  terms,  many  have  been  intro- 
duced by  travelers,  by  operatic  stars,  by  actors,  by  musicians 
and  by  dancers. 

To  England's  relations  with  Spain  and  to  the  marriage 
of  Catherine  of  Aragon  with  Henry  VIII.,  in  whose  court, 
while  Catherine  was  in  royal  favor,  there  were  many 
Spanish  grandees,  we  may  trace  an  influx  of  Spanish  terms 
which  was  increased  by  such  subsequent  events  as  the 
marriage  of  Queen  Mary  to  Philip  of  Spain,  and  the  war 
with  Spain  which  culminated  in  the  dispersion  of  the 
Spanish  Armada.  For  accretions  of  the  Portuguese,  we 
may  look  to  the  marriage  of  Charles  II.  to  Catherine  of 
Braganga.  The  Flemish  and  Dutch  words  came  from 
trade,  immigration,  and  warfare. 

As  to  the  influx  of  Greek,  this  may  be  attributed  to 
scholars  more  than  to  trade,  which,  however,  played  no  un- 


162  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

important  part  through  the  Romans,  and  through  those 
other  Latin  nations  that  came  into  contact  with  them.  It 
was  the  opinion  of  Franciscus  Junius  that  Gothic  was  no 
more  than  a  dialect  of  Greek.  The  Goths,  whose  language 
is  referred  to  here,  were  that  branch  which  inhabited 
Moesia,  a  region  not  remote  from  the  northern  shores  of 
Greece.  Their  language,  with  different  dialects,  may  have 
spread  over  all  of  northern  Europe,  that  is,  from  the  coast 
of  Norway  to  the  Black  Sea.  There  is  no  doubt  that  many 
of  the  words  that  came  to  us  from  the  Greek  did  so  through 
the  Latin,  as,  for  instance,  the  Greek  dia/3o\o?  (''slan- 
derer," which  in  the  New  Testament  is  used  to  designate 
Satan),  which,  originating  with  the  Greek  Christians,  came 
to  us  either  from  the  Latin  diaholus,  through  the  spread  of 
Roman  Christianity,  or  through  that  branch  of  the  Goths 
who  conquered  Mcesia  in  a.d.  250.  The  first  authority  for 
its  use  cited  by  Sir  James  Murray,^  is  the  "Corpus  Glos- 
sarium"  (the  Old  English  Texts).  It  is  assigned  to  the 
year  800.  The  Christianity  of  the  Eastern  Goths  was 
Greek,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  term  was  carried 
by  the  Goths  to  other  Germanic  tribes,  and  finally  reached 
those  that  later  descended  and  settled  on  Britain's  shores. 

As  has  already  been  said,  scholars  were  largely  respon- 
sible for  the  assimilation  of  Greek  terms  into  English.  The 
adoption  of  a  large  number  of  these  may  be  traced  to  the 
revival  of  the  study  of  Greek  and  English  classics  in  Eng- 
land during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  and 
since  then  the  language  of  Science  has  turned  to  Greece 
for  its  forms. 

Various  estimates  of  the  sources  of  English  words  have 
been  made.     On  the  basis  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  George 

'  "New  English  Dictionary,"  b.v.  Devil. 


THE  FOREIGN    ELEMENT    IN    ENGLISH  163 

Hickes  calculated  that  nine-tenths  of  our  words  were  of 
Saxon  origin,  Sharon  Turner's  estimate  was  that  the 
Norman  were  to  the  Saxon  as  4  to  6.  Trench  computed  60 
per  cent.  Saxon ;  30  per  cent.  Latin,  including  those  re- 
ceived through  French ;  5  per  cent.  Greek,  and  5  per  cent. 
other  sources,  A  recent  analysis  of  the  origin  of  20,000 
words  in  the  language  taken  from  the  ''New  Standard 
Dictionary ' '  shows  the  following  sources : 

Anglo-Saxon  and  English       3,681 

Low  German     126 

Dutch 207 

Scandinavian 693 

German      333 

French  from  Loav  German 54 

French  from  Dutch  or  Middle  Dutch 45 

French  from  Scandinavian 63 

French  from  (1)  German       85 

French  from  (2)  Middle  High  German       27 

French  from  (3)  Old  High  German      154 

French  from  (4)  Teutonic      225 

French  (Romance  languages)       297 

French  from  Latin 4,842 

French  from  Late  Latin 829 

French  from  Italian       162 

Celtic 170 

Latin  (direct) 2,880 

Provent^al,  from  Latin 25 

Italian        99 

Spanish       108 

Portuguese         21 

Greek  direct  or  through  Latin,  Late  Latin,  French  or  other 

sources        2,493 


164  ESSENTIALS   OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Slavonic      31 

Lithuanian         1 

Asiatic :  Aryan  languages,  including  Persian  and  Sanskrit  163 

European  non- Aryan  languages 20 

Semitic :   Hebrew 99 

Arabic     272 

Asiatic:   Non  Aryan,  not  Semitic,  including  Malay,  Chi- 
nese, Japanese,  Tatar,  Australian      135 

African  languages 32 

American 102 

Hybrid        675 

Unknown 12 

Total       19,161 

It  was  the  late  Professor  George  P.  Marsh's  idea  that 
English  as  spoken  by  the  people  in  general  was  derived 
from  Anglo-Saxon,  Latin,  and  French.  This  statement  he 
qualified  by  admitting  that  certain  grammatical  forms 
adopted  from  the  Danish  passed  into  the  literary  dialect 
and  became  established  in  modes  of  speech  in  English. 
The  Professor  claimed  that  spoken  English  did  not  possess 
any  important  characteristic  that  could  not  be  traced  to  one 
of  these  sources.  In  support  of  his  claims  he  cited  Dean 
Trench's  estimate  of  the  relative  proportions  of  the  differ- 
ent elements  in  English  given  above.  "This  estimate," 
said  Marsh,  "applies  to  the  total  vocabulary  as  contained 
in  the  completest  dictionaries."  As  the  dictionaries  of  his 
time  did  not  contain  more  than  one-sixth  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  words  in  the  language,  irrespective  of  that  part  of 
it  which  is  restricted  to  particular  professions,  this  esti- 
mate has  little  linguistic  value.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
all  other  estimates  based    upon    selection    from    various 


THE  FOREIGN   ELEMENT   IN   ENGLISH  165 

authors.  Sir  James  Murray  said  at  one  time  of  the  actual 
proportion  of  the  various  elements,  "it  is  probable  that 
original  English  words  do  not  now  form  more  than  a  third 
or,  perhaps,  a  fourth  of  the  total  entries  in  a  full  English 
dictionary." 

Professor  Marsh  did  not  make  any  attempt  to  determine 
the  etymological  proportions  of  our  vocabulary  because, 
he  said,  **no  dictionary  contains  more  than  two-thirds  or  at 
most  three-fourths,  of  the  words  which  make  up  the  Eng- 
lish language."  But  ever  since  then  the  growth  of  that 
language,  as  recorded  by  the  vocabularies  of  the  different 
lexicons,  has  been  phenomenal. 

As  by  common  consent  we  date  the  beginning  of  literary 
English  from  Chaucer,  it  is  pertinent  that  we  examine  his 
work  with  a  view  to  determining  to  what  extent  he  made 
use  of  foreign  words.  The  foreign  element  in  the  prologue 
to  Chaucer's  "Canterbury  Tales"  has  been  calculated  at 
from  12  to  13  per  cent.  An  examination  of  a  glossary  to 
his  entire  works  shows  a  much  greater  percentage.  The 
glossary  compiled  by  Tyrwhitt  gives  by  actual  count  1,480 
Saxon  words,  1,376  French,  84  Latin,  3  Dutch,  and  1  Ital- 
ian. This  serves  to  demonstrate  the  absurdity  of  selecting 
a  stanza  or  two  of  Chaucer's  work  and  of  basing  upon 
these  an  estimate  of  the  percentage  of  foreign  words  in 
his  writings. 

In  all  Middle  English  writings  before  1250,  says  Dr.  0. 
F.  Emerson,  the  number  of  French  words  probably  does 
not  exceed  500 ;  Professor  Skeat,  through  the  examination 
of  the  thirty-one  texts  written  before  1400,  found  just  3,400 
words  of  French  origin. 

From  the  last  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the 
seventeenth,  writers  often  resorted  to  words  borrowed  from 


166  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  older  languages  instead  of  making  use  of  their  English 
equivalents.  Thus  it  is  that  Latinized  French,  Angevin 
and  Latinized  English  words,  based  upon  forms  previously 
in  vogue,  are  to  be  found  in  abundance  in  our  later  liter- 
ature— especially  in  that  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries — but  fortunately  the  bulk  of  them  was  soon  dis- 
placed as  debased  currency  by  sterling  English  words.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  voyages  of  dis- 
covery made  by  the  great  English  navigators,  and  by  for- 
eign navigators  sailing  under  the  English  flag,  were  re- 
sponsible for  the  introduction  into  English  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  foreign  words.  Thus,  a  great  many  Spanish  words, 
and  American  words  in  Spanish  dress,  came  into  use.  The 
discovery  of  the  potato  and  the  tohacco  plant,  due  to  this 
source,  gave  us  not  only  the  articles  themselves  but  the 
names  for  them.  Alligator,  armada,  armadillo,  holo,  cara- 
bao,  caravel,  cargo,  galleon,  hidalgo,  nipa,  are  other  exam- 
ples of  Spanish  terms  which  we  have  adopted.  In  like 
manner,  hanana,  binnacle,  caste,  cobra,  coca  were  absorbed 
from  the  Portuguese.  How  this  process  of  assimilation 
continues  through  the  years  may  be  seen  from  such  words 
as  bodega,  hacienda,  junta,  machete,  reconcentrado,  all 
terms  which  we  have  appropriated  in  comparatively  recent 
times. 

Of  the  words  derived  from  the  French  which  we  have 
appropriated,  the  earliest  are  to  be  found  in  the  Saxon 
'  *  Chronicle. ' '  There  are  only  sixteen  of  these :  castle,  coun- 
tess, count,  empress,  justice,  miracle,  peace,  prison,  privilege, 
procession,  rent,  standard,  tower,  treason,  treasure  and  war. 
So  situated  that  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  war  she  was  in 
constant  contact  with  her  French  neighbor,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  England  received  a  much  larger  number 


THE  FOREIGN   ELEMENT   IN   ENGLISH  167 

of  French  words  into  her  vocabulary  as  the  centuries 
rolled  on.  Conditions  such  as  the  exile  of  English  kings 
in  France,  where  they  often  were  able  to  take  refuge  in 
times  of  distress,  helped  to  increase  this  process  of  assimi- 
lation. The  Restoration  evidenced  an  intensified  French 
influence  due  to  the  prolonged  sojourn  of  Prince  Charles, 
afterward  King  Charles  II.,  in  France.  One  has  but  to 
examine  the  literature  of  the  seventeenth  century  to  verify 
this.  Dryden  made  use  of  a  fair  number,  possibly  200  in 
all.  Other  writers  were  not  slow  in  following  his  example 
until  we  appropriated  such  words  as  adroit,  apartment, 
bagatelle,  brunette,  burlesque,  caprice,  chignon,  coquette, 
cravat,  crinoline,  and  many  more.  The  modern  tendency 
to  draw  from  the  same  source  may  be  illustrated  by  such 
words  as  automobile,  cabaret,  chassis,  chauffeur,  cigarette, 
communique,  demarche,  depot,  empennage,  garage,  grisette, 
hangar,  massage,  masseur,  masseuse,  programme,  sabotage, 
seance,  tonneau,  vaudeville. 

Although  a  few  Italian  words  are  to  be  found  in  Chaucer, 
their  introduction,  in  an  appreciable  number,  into  English 
dates  from  a  much  later  time.  For  instance,  the  word 
pilgrim,  Italian,  "  pelligrino, "  came  into  English  before 
1200.  Emerson  found  it  in  Layaraon's  translation  of 
Wace's  **Brut,"  the  date  of  which  has  been  placed  between 
1155  and  1200.  The  development  of  art,  especially  of 
music,  has  given  us  a  rich  vocabulary  of  Italian  words 
besides  such  as  brigand,  ruffian,  ducat.  Among  art  terms 
we  have  cameo,  cartoon,  mezzotint,  torso,  virtu,  while  in 
music  there  are  allegro,  andante,  canto,  concert,  piano,  and 
the  series  of  mezzos  with  the  soprano  and  coloratura  which 
some  of  our  operatic  song-birds  have  vividly  impressed 
on  our  notice.     Of  words  in  general  use  from  the  same 


168  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

source  among  hundreds  of  others  we  have  catacomb,  regatta, 
dilettante,  extravaganza,  and  the  comparatively  recently 
acquired  Camorra,  Mafia  and  pantata. 

As  to  the  other  sources  from  which  English-speaking 
people  have  drawn,  they  are  varied  and  numerous.  In  the 
work  of  adaptation  the  seafarer  has  proved  his  efficiency 
for  he  has  a  very  reputable  list  of  terms  to  his  credit — ^not 
that  he  coined  them  all,  but  because  he  kept  them  alive. 
From  various  sources  we  have  hilge,  brig,  hunk,  hunker, 
hurgee,  centerhoard,  clipper,  commodore,  cove,  cutter,  dock, 
donkey,  fender,  gig,  hurricane-deck,  jiggermast,  list,  lugger, 
pancakes,  peajacket,  pier,  poop,  propeller,  skiff,  skylight, 
skysail,  steerage,  stern,  storekeeper,  stringer,  surf,  tank, 
tender,  track,  tramp,  transmitter,  trawl,  trim,  trunk,  twist. 
A  great  number  of  our  seafaring  terms  we  took  from  the 
Dutch  or  Low  German,  as  ahoy!  hoom,  marline,  skipper, 
schooner,  sloop,  yacht,  etc.  Others  are  of  the  homemade 
variety,  as  battleship,  freighter,  funnel,  ironclad,  lifeboat, 
liner,  man-of-war,  searchlight,  screw,  steamer,  submarine, 
etc. 

From  the  Dutch  or  Low  German  we  have  also  derived 
many  terms  used  in  trade,  as  cannikin,  hogshead,  holland, 
spool,  stoop,  store,  wagon.  Of  Scandinavian,  which  at  one 
time  exerted  a  marked  influence  on  the  language,  especially 
through  the  settlement  of  the  Norsemen  and  Danes  in  the 
northeastern  region  of  Britain,  very  few  words  survived 
the  Middle  English  period,  but  these  found  their  way  into 
the  dialects  by  which  they  were  preserved.  Thus  we  have 
to-day  from  Old  Norse,  aloft,  call,  crave,  fellow,  husband, 
knife,  wrong,  etc.  More  than  500  Norse  terms  have  been 
appropriated  by  the  language.  This  process  of  appropria- 
tion continues.    Saga,  slang,  Valkyrie,  Viking,  Edda,  etc., 


THE  FOREIGN   ELEMENT   IN   ENGLISH  1G9 

came  from  this  source.  The  Norse  element  to  be  found  in 
personal  and  place  names  is  much  greater.  Most  English 
names  ending  with  the  suffix  -son  are  of  Norse  origin,  as 
Gibson,  Gilson,  Jamieson,  Johnson,  Robertson,  Thomson; 
while  the  place-name  suffixes  -by,  -thorpe,  -toft,  and  -thwaite 
— each  one  of  which  means  "hamlet"  or  "village" — as  in 
Selby,  Oglethorpe,  Lowestoft,  Linthwaite,  came  to  us 
through  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  American  Indians  gave  us  our  hominy,  and  mocca- 
sins; the  tomahawk,  the  pow-wow,  etc.  From  the  Hindu  we 
got  Bahadur,  khaki,  nainsook.  The  polka  we  got  from  the 
Pole,  and  the  hussar  from  Hungary;  jujutsu  from  Japan, 
as  well  as  kimona  and  geisha;  the  Chinese  gave  us  tea  and 
the  chinaware  to  drink  it  from.  We  took  the  caravan, 
harem,  and  kaftan  from  the  Turk.  From  the  Australian 
we  got  the  boomerang  and  kangaroo,  as  well  as  hundreds 
of  other  terms  peculiar  to  the  Australian  continent,  as 
bushranger,  billabong,  cooey  (the  shrill  call  of  the  Abo- 
rigines), larrikin,  corroboree,  the  sundowner.  To  New 
Zealand  we  owe  the  aweto,  the  kiwi,  and  many  others. 

A  few  years  ago  Professor  Brander  Matthews  attributed 
the  injection  of  foreign  words  into  the  English  language 
to  "the  pedant  wishing  to  parade  his  knowledge"  or  to  "the 
pretender  desiring  to  get  credit  for  what  he  does  not  really 
possess."  But  the  influence  of  individuals  forming  the 
first  class  is  slight ;  few,  if  any,  of  their  writings  make  per- 
manent impression  on  the  public  mind,  and  the  craze  for 
going  abroad  to  acquire  a  European  ** finish"  is  chiefly  re- 
sponsible for  the  existence  of  the  second. 

One  of  the  most  prolific  of  the  various  sources  from 
which  our  language  derives  foreign  words  is  the  periodical 
press.     Nowadays  one  may  take  up  almost  any  copy  of  a 


170  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

daily  newspaper  and  find  foreign  words  injected  into  Eng- 
lish sentences.  Despatches  from  the  field  of  war  have  re- 
peatedly assisted  in  the  work.  Through  them  we  learned 
of  the  chassepot.  Although  known  before  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War,  the  word  mitrailleuse  was  not  really  natural- 
ized until  the  machine-gun  had  revealed  its  terrible  power 
for  destruction  in  battle,  and  the  news  was  flashed  over  the 
wire.  The  German  landwehr  and  uhlan,  though  familiar 
enough  to  military  men,  were  not  injected  into  our  lan- 
guage until  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  they  had  come  to  stay. 
In  our  own  times  holo,  commando,  communique,  demarche, 
khaki,  trek,  kopje,  laager,  machete,  reconcentrado,  tauie, 
and  Zeppelin,  have  been  used  so  often  in  foreign  news  as 
to  have  become  almost  naturalized. 

It  seems  but  yesterday  that  the  vali  of  the  vilayet  of 
Monastir  despatched  government  troops  against  the  in- 
surgents, and  an  irade  of  the  Sultan  called  out  the  reserves, 
and  to-day  hodjas  and  softas  are  leaving  the  city  of  the 
Golden  Gate  to  conquer  Egypt. 

Outside  the  military  pale  we  are  indebted  as  much  to 
travelers  as  to  journalists  for  bungalow,  hacienda,  jin- 
rikisha,  pasha,  porcelain,  proa,  for  which  we  have  no  Eng- 
lish equivalents.  The  explorations  and  discoveries  of  Speke 
and  Grant,  of  Baker,  Du  Chaillu,  and  Livingstone,  of 
Stanley,  Selous,  and  Johnstone,  and  the  experiences  of 
Slatin  Bey,  Emin  Pasha,  Father  Ohrwalder,  Charles  Neufeld 
and  Roosevelt  gave  us  more.  Through  such  sources  we  ob- 
tained cassava,  dahahiyeh,  nyanza,  omheya,  palaver,  razzia 
(French),  tomtom,  and  a  host  of  others.  Uncommon  as 
many  of  these  words  may  sound  to  the  ear  nowadays  there 
is,  nevertheless,  a  voluminous  literature  where  they  are  re- 
peatedly used  for  lack  of  English  equivalents. 


THE  FOREIGN   ELEMENT    IN    ENGLISH  171 

"With  the  territorial  expansion  of  the  United  States  came 
the  natural  expansion  of  the  language  of  its  inhabitants. 
We  obtained  depot,  jardiniere,  levee,  from  the  French  popu- 
lation embraced  by  the  Louisiana  Purchase ;  banana,  hronco, 
burro,  cafeteria,  chaparral,  cinch,  guava,  tornado,  etc.,  from 
Spanish  America,  and  the  events  of  the  closing  years  of  the 
past  century  have  multiplied  this  class.  Spanish  and 
native  terms  now  current  in  the  speech  of  the  English- 
speaking  peoples  of  the  Philippine  Islands  are  fast  finding 
their  way  into  our  own,  as  calesin,  carahao,  carretala,  carre- 
to7icio,  etc.,  and  show  that  we  have  only  begun  to  assimilate 
words  from  this  source;  also  from  Alaska,  Hawaii  and 
Samoa.  The  process  of  assimilation  from  the  French  still 
continues.  "We  have  drawn  a  few  words  from  Russia,  as 
droshky,  moujik,  ukase,  and  from  the  Mohammedan  world 
we  have  kaftan,  muezzin  and  s^ura. 

To'day,  the  total  number  of  words  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, including  radicals,  derivatives,  participles,  obsoletes, 
and  foreign  terms,  and  excluding  those  words  which  Lowell 
so  characteristically  described  as  "the  sewerage  of  speech," 
is  estimated  at  about  600,000,  or  nearly  twenty  times  the 
number  computed  by  a  contributor  to  the  "Edinburgh 
Review"  seventy  years  ago.  Assuming  his  computation 
to  be  correct,  our  language  has  grown  since  that  time  at 
the  rate  of  nearly  5,000  words  per  annum.  In  the  light 
of  the  immense  vocabularies  already  collected  we  can  but 
consider  the  computer's  figures  as  inaccurate.  Taking  ac- 
count of  all  the  various  sources  from  which  the  language 
has  assimilated  words  since  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Kings,  it  seems  absurd,  in  the  face  of  American  and  British 
activities  over  all  the  world,  to  say  (on  the  basis  of  the 
analysis  referred  to  above)  that  only  75,000  foreign  terms 


172  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

have  been  injected  into  it.  If  this  total  were  multiplied  by 
three  we  should  be  nearer  the  actual  number.  But  this 
computation  does  not  take  into  account  the  thousands  of 
technical  terms  found  in  text-books.  In  this  computation 
there  must  have  been  a  rigid  exclusion  of  technical  terms 
as  those  of  foreign  origin  common  to  the  sciences. 

Take  astronomy,  botany,  biology,  chemistry,  entomology, 
geology,  ichthyology,  morphology,  mycology,  pathology, 
physiology.  Examine  the  text-books  on  these  subjects  and 
compare  them  with  all  modern  dictionaries.  The  result  of 
such  a  comparison  in  the  present  state  of  lexicology  will 
prove  a  revelation.  The  dictionaries  of  the  day  are  made 
so  that  they  shall  prove  of  the  greatest  use  to  the  largest 
number.  In  essential  particulars  they  are  made  for  the 
people  rather  than  for  the  scientist,  who  if  he  require  in- 
formation upon  terms  related  to  his  particular  study  must 
turn  to  his  text-books  to  find  it.  This  condition  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  to  produce  a  dictionary  in  which  every  word 
used  in  every  science  is  given  place  would  prove  so  costly 
an  undertaking  that  no  one  has  yet  dared  to  embark  in  it. 
Further,  even  if  some  one  were  found  with  sufficient  capital 
and  enterprise  to  issue  so  comprehensive  a  work,  that  one 
would  find  it  hard  to  recover  his  investment.  That  such 
a  work  as  this  could  be  compiled  there  is  no  doubt,  but  the 
labor  of  producing  it  should  be  done  by  our  great  univer- 
sities— it  should  be  considered  a  national  monument  and 
supported  as  such.  In  the  field  of  lexicology  the  United 
States  leads  the  world,  the  people  of  America  are  a  word- 
studying  people,  the  requisite  knowledge  to  produce  such 
a  magnum  opus  is  in  the  American  universities ;  all  that  is 
needed  to  set  it  to  work  is  the  founding  of  a  great  fund 
which  shall  be  sufficient  to  finance  it  to  completion. 


THE  FOREIGN   ELEMENT   IN   ENGLISH  173 

For  some  years  past  the  French  people  have  been  en- 
gaged in  producing  an  "Encyclopedia  of  Science"  to  be 
completed  in  one  thousand  volumes.  The  work  is  well 
under  way;  more  than  a  hundred  volumes  have  already 
appeared,  but  the  project  is  not  a  national  one ;  it  is  merely 
one  of  private  enterprise.  What  the  Frenchman  is  doing 
the  American  can  do.  The  question  is,  "Will  any  one  give 
him  the  opportunity?" 


Literature:  Its  Elements 

Cicero  has  told  us  that  the  study  of  literature  nourishes 
youth,  entertains  old  age,  adorns  prosperity,  solaces  adver- 
sity, is  delightful  at  home,  unobtrusive  abroad,  deserts  us 
not  by  day  or  by  night,  in  journeying  or  in  retirement.  In 
addition,  it  broadens  one's  horizon,  develops  one's  mind, 
and  amplifies,  balances,  or  corrects  one's  ideas.  ^ 

Huxley  defined  literature  as  "the  expression  of  the 
thoughts  of  society";  Edward  Everett  believed  it  to  be 
''the  voice  of  the  age  and  the  state"  reflecting  the  character, 
energy  and  resources  of  a  country  in  the  conceptions  of 
its  great  minds.  Accepting  both  these  definitions  in  their 
broadest  sense,  it  must  follow  that  a  country  without  a 
national  literature  is  an  indeterminate  quantity,  or  as  Car- 
lyle  expressed  it,  ''an  unestimated  country."  In  the  broad 
expanse  of  the  field  of  letters  which  the  term  Literature 
embraces,  there  are  many  furrows.  These  have  been  vari- 
ously classified.  To  De  Quincey  there  were  only  the  liter- 
ature of  knowledge  and  the  literature  of  power.  This 
classification  is  too  general.  For  the  purpose  of  explaining 
what  the  term  Literature  comprehends,  the  treatment  ac- 
corded to  the  word  by  the  "New  Standard  Dictionary"  has 
been  selected.  According  to  that  work  Literature  embraces 
the  written  or  printed  productions  of  the  human  mind  col- 
lectively; especially,  such  productions  as  are  marked  by 
the  elevation,  vigor,  and  catholicity  of  thought,  by  fitness, 

174 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  175 

purity,  and  grace  of  style,  and  by  artistic  construction.  It 
embraces  also  the  portion  of  such  writing  that  pertains  to 
any  particular  epoch,  country,  subject,  or  branch  of  learn- 
ing; so  that  we  may  speak  of  French  literature,  or  of  the 
literature  of  chemistry. 

In  a  restricted  sense,  literature  designates  the  portion 
of  literary  productions  that  excludes  the  positive  sciences. 
In  this  sense  it  is  called  helles-lettres.  The  history  of  the 
development  of  these  is  what  is  taught  in  the  schools  as 
"literature."  In  this  narrowest  and  strictest  sense,  liter- 
ature belongs  to  the  sphere  of  high  art,  and  embodies 
thought  that  is  power-giving,  or  inspiring  and  elevating, 
rather  than  merely  knowledge-giving  (excluding  thus  all 
purely  scientific  writings)  ;  and  catholic,  or  of  interest  to 
man  as  man  (excluding  writings  that  are  merely  technical, 
or  for  a  class,  trade,  profession  or  the  like,  only).  Such 
literature  is  esthetic  in  its  tone  and  style  (excluding  all 
writings  violating  the  principles  of  correct  taste),  and 
shaped  by  the  creative  imagination,  or  power  of  artistic 
construction  (excluding  all  writings  that  are  shapeless 
and  without  essential  and  organic  unity).  Dean  Stanley 
understood  literature  to  consist  of  "those  great  works  that 
rise  above  professional  or  commonplace  uses,  and  take 
possession  of  the  mind  of  a  whole  nation  or  a  whole  age." 

The  production  of  literature  involves  (1)  artistic  con- 
struction, or  esthetic  art,  which  is  that  constructive  power 
or  process  by  which  forms,  facts,  or  ideas  regarded  as  beau- 
tiful are  grouped  and  organized  according  to  esthetic  prin- 
ciples, and  (2)  the  constructive  faculty,  or  constructive 
imagination,  which  is  the  mental  activity  by  which  the 
elements  or  single  objects  of  perception  and  self-conscious- 
ness are  grouped  into  systems,  scientific,  artistic,  and  prac- 


176  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

tical.  In  such  activity  both  the  intellect  and  the  imagina- 
tion take  part. 

Literature  may  be  divided  into  (1)  Oratory,  where  the 
representation  is  for  the  sake  of  the  effect  of  another  mind ; 
(2)  Representative  discourse,  where  it  is  for  the  sake  of 
the  theme  itself;  and  (3)  Poetry,  where  it  is  embodied  in 
beautiful  form,  mainly  for  the  sake  of  the  form. 

A  very  broad  division  of  literature,  on  the  basis  of  lan- 
guage form,  is  into  prose  and  poetry  (or  rather  verse). 
As  Dr.  James  C.  Fernald^  has  pointed  out,  "Used  abso- 
lutely, the  term  denotes  what  has  been  called  'polite  liter- 
ature' or  belles-lettres,  i.e.,  the  works  collectively  that  em- 
body taste,  feeling,  loftiness  of  thought,  and  purity  and 
beauty  of  style,  as  poetry,  history,  fiction,  and  dramatic 
compositions,  including  also  much  of  philosophical  writing, 
as  the  'Republic'  of  Plato,  and  oratorical  productions,  as 
the  'Orations'  of  Demosthenes.  In  the  broad  sense  we 
can  speak  of  the  literature  of  science ;  in  the  narrow  sense, 
we  speak  of  literature  and  science  as  distinct  departments 
of  knowledge.  Literature  is  also  used  to  signify  literary 
pursuits  or  occupations. ' ' 

The  term  comparative  literature  connotes  the  study  of 
the  literatures  of  several  peoples  as  to  the  relations  that 
they  bear  one  to  another  with  reference  to  their  similarity 
or  dissimilarity  of  style  or  thought  at  the  same  or  different 
periods  of  time;  and  of  "light  literature,"  meaning  liter- 
ature that  requires  little  mental  exertion  to  understand, 
and  is  produced  chiefly  for  amusement.  The  latter  term 
is  applied  usually  to  fiction. 

In  the  foregoing  classification,  the  first  division  of  liter- 
ature is  Oratory,  which  is  the  form  of  discourse  or  com- 

^  "Synonyms,  Antonyms   and   Prepositions,"  page  819. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  177 

position,  the  object  of  which  is  to  produce  an  effect  on 
another  mind.  It  embraces  oratory  proper,  which  ad- 
dresses present  minds,  and,  by  extension,  epistolary  com- 
position, which  addresses  absent  minds. 

According  to  the  Ancients,  the  three  leading  branches  of 
Oratory  Proper  are  (1)  Didactic  or  Philosophic  Oratory,  to 
enlighten  or  instruct  the  hearer,  embracing  the  lecture, 
scientific  discourse,  etc. ;  (2)  Epideictic  or  Demonstrative, 
to  awaken  feeling,  especially  the  sentiment  of  approbation 
or  disapprobation,  in  the  hearer,  embracing  the  panegyric 
and  the  eulogy,  and  other  less  serious  and  important  forms ; 
(3)  Judicial  or  Forensic  and  Deliberative,  the  former 
having  the  right  as  its  governing  idea,  and  the  proceedings 
of  civil  judicature  as  its  chief  province,  the  latter  having 
the  good,  the  useful,  the  expedient  as  its  governing  ideas, 
and  legislative  assemblies  as  its  chief  province. 

Representative  Discourse,  the  second  division  of  liter- 
ature, connotates  that  form  of  literature  which,  for  the 
sake  of  unfolding  a  theme,  presents  its  fiction  or  drama  in 
distinction  from  oratory  and  poetry. 

The  essay,  a  comparatively  modern  product,  is  a  literary 
composition  on  some  special  subject.  It  is  distinct  from 
biography  or  history.  The  term  is  sometimes  extended  to 
poetical  dissertations ;  as,  Pope's  ''Essay  on  Criticism."  But 
the  essay  forms  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  mass  of 
representative  discourse,  which  consists  mainly  of  fiction 
and  drama. 

Fiction  is  that  department  of  literature  which  embraces 
all  fictitious  narrative.  Prose  fiction  is  prose  work  in  nar- 
rative form  in  which  the  incidents,  characters,  and  scenes 
are  partly  or  wholly  imagined. 

Fiction  may  be  divided  into  two  departments:   (a)  the 


178  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

romance,  the  product  of  the  fancy;  and  (b)  the  novel,  the 
product  of  imagination  or  artistic  construction. 

A  number  of  terms  are  used  to  distinguish  the  several 
kinds  of  fictitious  writings,  as  allegory,  fable,  legend,  myth, 
novel,  romance,  story.  These  words  Dr.  Fernald^  discrim- 
inates in  part  as  follows:  ^^ Fiction  is  chiefly  used  of  a 
narrative  designed  to  portray  human  life,  with  or  without 
a  practical  lesson ;  a  romance  portrays  what  is  picturesque 
or  striking,  as  a  mere  fiction  may  not  do ;  novel  is  a  general 
name  for  any  continuous  fictitious  narrative,  especially  a 
love-story.  The  moral  of  the  fahle  is  expressed  formally; 
the  lesson  of  the  fiction,  if  any,  is  inwrought.  A  fiction  is 
studied ;  a  myth  grows  up  without  intent.  A  legend  may 
be  true,  but  can  not  be  historically  verified ;  a  myth  has  been 
received  as  true  at  some  time,  but  is  now  known  to  be  false. 
In  modern  usage  we  may  say  that  an  allegory  is  an  extended 
simile.  The  allegory,  parable,  or  fable  tells  its  story  as  if 
true,  leaving  the  reader  or  hearer  to  discover  its  fictitious 
character  and  learn  its  lesson.  All  these  are,  in  strict  de- 
finition, fictions;  but  the  word  fiction  is  now  applied  almost 
exclusively  to  novels  or  romances.  An  allegory  is  a  moral 
or  religious  tale,  of  which  the  moral  lesson  is  the  sub- 
stance, and  all  descriptions  and  incidents  but  accessories, 
as  in  'The  Pilgrim's  Progress.'  A  fable  is  generally 
briefer,  representing  animals  as  the  speakers  and  actors, 
and  commonly  conveying  some  lesson  of  practical  wisdom 
or  shrewdness,  as  'The  Fables  of  ^sop.'  A  parable  is 
exclusively  moral  or  religious,  briefer  than  an  allegory, 
with  its  lesson  more  immediately  discernible,  given,  as  it 
were,  at  a  stroke." 

The  romance  is  a  form  of  prose  fiction,  distinguished 

*  "Synonyms,   Antonyms  and  Prepositions,"  p.  52. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  179 

from  the  novel  or  tale  because  it  does  not  bind  itself  to 
verisimilitude  or  reality,  but  gives  scope  to  imagination  and 
idealization.  Examples  are  Sir  Philip  Sidney's  "Arcadia," 
Scott's  "Ivanhoe,"  or  Cervantes'  "Don  Quixote." 

The  romance  proper — the  product  of  the  fancy,  rather 
than  of  the  creative  imagination — includes  (1)  the  apolog, 
embracing  the  fable  and  the  allegory;  (2)  the  extrava- 
ganza; and  (3)  the  sentimental  romance. 

The  period  of  chivalry  supplied  the  age  of  romance  with 
the  greatest  wealth  of  material.  This  was  the  age  of 
medieval  legends,  such  as  those  of  the  Cid,  Alexander, 
Charlemagne,  or  Arthur,  written  originally  in  Old  French, 
Provencal,  or  other  Romance  dialect,  or  in  late  Latin,  and 
in  metrical  forms. 

They  were  often  epic,  of  great  length,  and  nearly  allied 
to  the  chansons  de  geste  of  the  minstrels  and  trouveres. 
Modern  imitations  of  this  species  of  romance  are  found 
in  Tennyson's  "Idylls  of  the  King,"  Byron's  "Bride  of 
Abydos,"  Scott's  "Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  Moore's 
"Lalla  Rookh." 

The  stories  of  the  beginnings  of  the  modern  European 
literatures  may  be  derived  from  accounts  of  the  men  who 
produced  and  preserved  them.  These  men  were  known  by 
differing  names.  A  minstrel  was  originally,  in  the  early 
middle  ages  and  before,  a  traveling  gleeman  or  wandering 
musician  who  composed  and  sang  to  the  harp,  and  recited 
in  hall  and  castle.  From  almost  the  beginning  a  minstrel 
here  and  there  became  attached  to  a  court  or  household  as 
a  retainer;  with  greater  frequency  the  minstrel  became,  in 
the  middle  ages,  a  retainer  whose  business  it  was  to  play 
musical  instruments  and  recite  poems  (generally  metrical 
tales)  for  the  entertainment  of  his  lord.     About  the  twelfth 


180  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

century  the  multiplication  of  manuscript  books  began  to 
supplant  the  old-time  minstrel  in  hall  and  palace.  Then 
minstrels  as  a  class  became  again  musical  or  performing 
vagabonds,  strolling  musicians  or  mountebanks.  In  Eng- 
land they  were  repressed  by  Henry  IV.,  and  classed  among 
"wasters,  rimers,  and  other  vagabonds." 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  from  the  eleventh  to  six- 
teenth centuries,  minstrels  of  various  classes  were  known 
as  jongleurs,  trouveres,  troubadours,  minnesingers,  meister- 
singers.  A  jongleur  was  one  of  a  class  of  French,  Prov- 
engal,  and  Anglo-Norman  minstrels  who  during  the  middle 
ages  visited  courts  and  castles,  composing  and  reciting 
songs,  poems,  and  fabliaux,  becoming  later  mere  story-tellers 
and  buffoons.  Jongleurs  were  distinct  from  troubadours, 
and  trouveres. 

A  trouvere  was  one  of  a  class  of  narrative  poets  of 
northern  France  who  wrote  in  the  langue  d'oui  from  the 
eleventh  century  to  the  fourteenth  century.  The  trouveres 
were  distinct  from  the  troubadours,  and  to  them  are  due  the 
gest,  the  fabliau,  the  Arthurian  romance,  the  "Roman  du 
Renart"  and  "Roman  de  la  Rose,"  the  prose  chronicles, 
the  mystery,  etc. 

As  Edmund  Gosse  has  pointed  out,^  the  established  idea 
that  the  poetry  of  the  trouveres  was  entirely  founded  upon 
imitation  of  that  of  the  troubadours  has  been  ably  com- 
batted  by  Paul  Meyer,  who  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
poetry  of  the  North  of  France  was  essentially  no  less  original 
than  that  of  the  South. 

A  troubadour  was  one  of  a  class  of  lyric  poets  that  origi- 
nated in  Provence,  France,  at  the  close  of  the  eleventh 
century,  and  flourished  in  southern  France,  and  also  in 

«  "Encyc.   Brit.,"   Vol.  XXVII,  p.   312. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  181 

Italy  and  Spain,  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 
They  wrote  in  the  Imigue  d'oc,  chiefly  of  love,  war,  and 
satire.  The  real  importance  of  this  period  in  French 
literature  consists  of  its  lyrical  poetry  written  by  more 
than  500  poets. 

The  minnesinger  was  a  lyric  poet  of  medieval  Germany 
(1170-1250),  who  sang  in  the  Swabian  Middle  High  German 
of  love,  springtime,  woman,  and  nature;  that  is,  he  was 
a  German  troubadour.  The  minnesingers  were  usually  of 
knightly  rank ;  their  meters  were  most  varied.  One  of  the 
principal  minnesingers  of  the  thirteenth  century  was 
Walther  von  der  Vogelweide,or  Walter  of  the  Bird-Meadow. 
A  meistersinger  was  one  of  the  burgher  poets  and  mu- 
sicians of  Germany  who  succeeded  the  minnesingers,  in  the 
fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  centuries. 

The  minstrel  of  earliest  English  (and  German)  literary 
history  was  the  scop  or  the  gleeman  who  produced  and  pre- 
served the  primitive  ballads  that  later  grew  into  such 
national  epics,  as  ''Beowulf,"  and  "Niebelungenlied." 
(See  account  of  epics  and  ballads,  below.) 

The  consideration  of  Romance  thus  takes  us  back  to  the 
beginnings  of  modern  literatures.  The  other  great  depart- 
ment of  fiction,  the  Novel,  is  very  modern. 

The  Novel  is  a  fictitious  prose  narrative,  now  usually  of 
sufficient  length  to  fill  a  fair-sized  volume,  in  which  char- 
acters and  actions  typical  of  real  life  are  portrayed  as 
through  the  medium  of  a  plot  of  more  or  less  intricacy.  It 
forms  the  third  transitional  stage  in  the  evolution  of 
imaginative  fiction,  of  which  the  epic  was  the  first  and  the 
romance  the  second;  differing  from  the  former  in  that  it 
deals  with  ordinary  characters  and  actions,  and  from  the 
latter  in  that  it  appeals  to  the  emotions  rather  than  to  the 


182  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

fancy  and  love  of  the  marvelous.  The  novel  is  dramatic, 
and  may  be  regarded  as  a  narrative  play  to  the  extent 
that  its  scenery,  manners,  surroundings,  and  mode  of  speech 
all  belong  to  the  historical  period  in  which  its  characters 
are  assumed  to  be  living,  and  also  because  the  personages 
of  the  history  are  brought  upon  the  stage  by  the  author 
to  play  their  several  parts,  according  to  their  dispositions 
and  temperaments,  in  the  development  of  the  plot,  the 
action  of  which  is  merely  assisted  by  his  descriptive  and 
analytical  interludes.  Technically,  the  length  of  a  novel 
is  from  40,000  words  upward,  that  of  a  novelette  being 
10,000  to  40,000  words,  and  of  a  short  story  from  1,000 
to  10,000  words. 

The  novel  proper  may  be  broadly  divided  into  four 
classes:  (1)  The  novel  of  incident,  including  (a)  the  novel 
of  adventure,  (b)  the  biographical  novel,  and  (c)  the 
naval,  military,  or  sporting  novel;  (2)  The  novel  of  artifice, 
dependent  on  the  cleverness  of  the  action  and  ingenuity  of 
the  plot,  embracing  (a)  the  detective  novel,  (b)  the  novel 
of  mystery,  (c)  the  novel  of  the  unknown,  in  which  appar- 
ently impossible  conditions  are  so  treated  as  to  seem  actual, 
(d)  the  novel  whose  motif  is  fear,  intrigue,  etc.;  (3)  The 
novel  of  ordinary  life,  including  (a)  the  novel  of  purpose, 
which  points  a  moral  or  exploits  a  theory,  (b)  the  realistic 
novel;  (4)  The  novel  of  the  inevitable,  dealing  with  the 
unescapable  sequence  of  cause  and  effect,  including  (a) 
the  problem  novel,  which  considers  problems  in  human  re- 
lations or  experience;  and  (b)  the  analytical  novel  or  novel 
of  character,  which  considers  events  solely  in  their  relation 
to,  and  their  effect  upon,  character.  As  Mr.  Wilbur  L. 
Cross^  has  suggested,  the  interest  in  the  novel  of  character 

*  "Encyclopedia  Americana,"  art.  Novel. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  183 

is  directed  to  the  portrayal  of  men  and  women,  and  the 
tale  is  a  subordinate  consideration.  In  the  novel  of  in- 
cident, the  interest  is  directed  to  what  happens ;  characters, 
if  there  be  any  at  all,  come  only  by  the  way;  the  tale  is 
the  main  thing. 

A  general  and  philosophical  division  applied  to  all  art, 
and,  therefore,  to  Literature,  is  that  made  by  the  terms 
Realism  and  Idealism.  With  reference  to  fiction,  the  terms 
are  rather  Realism  and  Romanticism;  and  we  speak  of  a 
novel  as  realistic  or  as  romantic. 

Bealism  is  the  doctrine  of  the  realists  in  literature,  art, 
philosophy,  etc.  Specifically,  in  art  and  literature,  it  is  the 
principle  and  practise  of  depicting  persons  and  scenes  as 
they  are  observed  really  to  exist  and  without  attempt  to 
select  or  modify  according  to  any  ideal  standard.  The 
term  is  opposed  to  Romanticism  and  Idealism. 

Romanticism  is  the  quality  or  characteristic  of  being 
romantic.  In  literature,  romanticism  involves  the  use  of 
a  romantic  style  as  opposed  to  the  classical,  as  well  as  the 
embodiment  of  matter  that  is  non-realistic  in  that  it  is 
either  idealistic  or  extravagant.  In  actual  fact,  roman- 
ticism in  art  and  literature  is  largely  a  revival  of  medieval 
forms. 

The  birthplace  of  romanticism  is  to  be  found  in  the 
chivalrous  tales  and  ballads  of  the  Romance  literature  of 
the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  a  marked 
change  took  place  in  intellectual  life  which  influenced  art, 
music,  literature,  and  thought,  manifesting  itself  in  Eng- 
land, Germany,  and  France,  in  the  romantic  movement  or 
school  which  substituted  for  the  simplicity,  harmony,  and 


184  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

purity  of  the  classicism  of  the  Augustan  age,  the  mystic, 
passionate,  free-spirited,  and  capricious  standards  of  the 
middle  ages.  The  principal  advocates  of  this  spirit  of 
idealism  as  opposed  to  realism  were,  in  France,  Rousseau, 
who  first  consistently  expressed  the  romantic  view  of  life ; 
in  Germany,  Schelling,  Schleiermacher,  Schlegel,  Lessing, 
and  others;  and  in  England,  Gray,  Cowper,  Burns,  Cole- 
ridge, Southey,  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats,  Rossetti,  and  Carlyle, 
whose  work  **  Sartor  Resartus"  best  represents  their  school. 

Idealism  in  art  is  the  endeavor  to  attain  perfection  by 
improving  and  uniting  in  one  form  all  the  best  qualities 
to  be  found  in  different  individual  forms.  While  in  art  and 
literature,  realism  strives  to  portray  things  with  scientific 
accuracy  and  detail,  allowing  comparatively  restricted  play 
for  the  imaginative  faculty,  idealism  creates  from  the 
imagination  a  type  of  beauty  in  conformity  with  a  precon- 
ceived ideal.  Idealism  will  thus  be  seen  to  cover  a  wide 
range  in  the  field  of  art,  from  the  work  of  pure  imagina- 
tion, in  which  no  attempt  is  made  to  conform  to  facts,  to 
the  representation  of  reality  with  only  a  slight  tinge  of 
modifying  color,  introduced  to  emphasize  certain  features 
or  aspects  of  the  work. 

The  distinctions  drawn  in  the  meanings  of  these  three 
words,  and  here  applied  to  fiction,  must  be  borne  in  mind 
in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  poetry,  below.  A  most 
marked  characteristic  of  English  poetry  for  the  century 
from  1780  to  1880,  was  its  romantic  quality. 

In  Classical  Literature  (Greek  and  Roman)  the  Drama 
formed  one  of  the  three  divisions  of  poetry  (see  below). 
In  modem  literatures,  dramatic  writings  were  at  first 
mainly  in  verse,  but  more  recently  are  generally  written 
in  prose.     In  this  respect  drama  has  drawn  close  to  its 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  185 

younger  cousin,  fiction.  A  drama  is  a  composition,  in 
prose  or  in  poetry,  usually  intended  to  be  acted  upon  the 
stage,  presenting  a  story  by  means  of  characters  speaking 
and  acting  in  situations  contrived  to  develop  a  plot,  and 
with  such  accessories  of  scenery,  stage  machinery,  costume, 
etc.,  as  are  fitted  to  produce  an  impression  of  reality.  A 
drama  is  a  play.     "Hamlet"  is  a  drama. 

The  early  history  of  the  modern  drama,  as  of  romance, 
takes  us  back  into  the  Middle  Ages.  The  very  beginnings 
of  English  drama  date,  in  reality,  from  the  end  of  the  tenth 
century.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out  elsewhere,  the 
miracle  play,  or  mystery,  formed  the  first  stage  of  the 
English  drama.  It  was  acted  in  churches  and  convents, 
either  by  the  clergy  or  by  persons  coached  by  them.  Gradu- 
ally by  the  side  of  the  church  play  there  was  developed  the 
morality  play,  from  which  dates  the  second  stage  of  the 
drama  in  England. 

A  mystery  or  miracle-play  treated  sacred  subjects;  a 
morality  was  an  old  form  of  play  in  which  the  characters 
were  personified  virtues,  vices,  mental  attributes,  and  the 
like.     Moralities  were  in  vogue  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

In  1902  "Everyman,"  an  old  morality,  was  revived  on 
the  stage  in  England  and  America,  and  in  1911  "Every- 
woman,"  a  modern  morality  of  an  ethical  character,  was 
produced  in  New  York,  and  later  also,  in  London,  England. 

In  the  "spacious"  days  of  Praise-God  Barebone,  or 
Barbon,  the  drama  was  declared  "lewd  and  iniquitous," 
and  under  his  orders  all  stage-plays  were  "absolutely  for- 
bidden, and  the  players  punished  as  rogues  and  vaga- 
bonds." It  was  cliaracteristic  of  this  peace-loving  politi- 
cian and  leather-seller  to  condemn  the  orderly  that  they 
might  bestir  themselves  to  a  full  appreciation  of  his  talents. 


186  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Barebone  combined  "preaching"  with  his  trade  as  leather- 
seller.  In  a  contemporary  scurrilous  pamphlet  entitled, 
"New  Preachers,  New"^  reference  is  made  to  "the  last 
tumult  in  Fleet  Street,  raised  by  the  disorderly  preachment, 
pratings,  and  pratlings  of  Mr.  Barebones,  the  leather- 
seller,  and  Mr.  Greene,  the  felt-maker,  on  Sunday  last,  19 
December  (1641).  The  'tumult'  is  jocosely  described,  and 
'1,000  persons'  are  alleged  to  have  been  present;  but  the 
'  tumult, '  so  far  from  originating  in  the  '  disorderly  preach- 
ment,' certainly  originated  in  violent  intrusion  upon  the 
worshipers.  Another  pamphlet  on  the  same  disturbance 
is  entitled  'The  Discovery  of  a  Swarme  of  Separatists,  or 
a  Leather  Seller's  Sermon.  Being  a  most  true  and  exact 
relation  of  the  tumultuous  combustion  in  Fleet  Street  last 
Sabbath  day,  being  29th  of  December  (19  in  text)  ;  truly 
describing  how  Burboon,  a  leather  seller,  had  a  conventicle 
of  Brownists  met  at  his  house  that  day,  about  the  number 
of  an  hundred  and  fifty,  who  preached  there  himself  about 
five  hours  in  the  afternoon.  Showing  likewise  how  they 
were  discovered  and  by  what  means,  as  also  how  the  con- 
stable scattered  their  nest,  and  of  the  great  tumult  in  the 
street.  .  .  .  London;  Printed  for  John  Greensmith,  1641.'  " 
In  this  publication  we  read  concerning  the  persecutors' 
treatment  of  the  worshipers:  "At  length  they  catcht  one 
of  them  alone,  but  they  kickt  him  so  vehemently  as  if  they 
meant  to  beate  him  into  a  jelly.  It  is  ambiguous  whether 
they  have  kil'd  him  or  no,  but  for  a  certainty  they  did 
knock  him  as  if  they  meant  to  pull  him  to  pieces.  I  con- 
fesse  it  had  been  no  matter  if  they  had  beaten  the  whole 
tribe  in  the  like  manner." 

Evidently  the  players  were  not  the  only    rogues    and 

•  Dr.  A.  B.  Grosart  in  "Dictionary  of  National  Biography,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  152. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  187 

vagabonds  in  England  at  the  time.  Praise-God  Barebone's 
point  of  view  may  have  been  derived  from  the  fact  that 
the  drama  began  by  introducing  the  vices  that  it  might 
teach  man  how  to  shun  them — a  moral  lesson  too  great  for 
men  of  Barebone's  mental  caliber  to  learn.  The  drama 
teaches  the  virtues  even  when  it  depicts  vice.  Maeaulay 
pronounced  the  Old  English  drama  as  the  most  lucid  mirror 
that  was  ever  held  up  to  nature.  To-day  the  purpose  of  the 
dramatist  is  to  present  life  as  in  a  looking-glass;  to  this 
end  he  presents  the  best  and  the  worst  passions  of  the  human 
heart.  Probably  no  finer  estimate  of  the  drama  has  ever 
been  made  than  that  which  Charlotte  Cushman  left  us :  * '  I 
think  I  love  and  reverence  ail  arts  equally,"  she  said, 
' '  only  putting  my  own  just  above  the  others ;  because  in  it 
I  recognize  the  union  and  culmination  of  the  others.  To 
me  it  seems  as  if  when  God  conceived  the  world,  that  was 
poetry ;  He  formed  it,  and  that  was  Scripture ;  He  colored 
it,  and  that  was  painting ;  He  peopled  it  with  living  beings, 
and  that  was  the  grand,  divine,  eternal  drama." 

The  Drama  assumes  two  principal  forms.  Tragedy  and 
Comedy,  the  former  representing  some  signal  event  or 
period  and  generally  tending  to  a  fatal  issue,  the  latter  pre- 
senting the  lighter  and  usually  humorous  aspects  of  charac- 
ter and  life,  individual  and  social.  Minor  forms  of  drama 
are  tragi-comedy,  farce,  burlesque,  melodrama,  etc. 

Tragedy  is  that  form  of  drama  or  of  dramatic  composi- 
tion of  which  the  theme  is  solemn,  lofty,  or  pathetic,  being 
a  great  action  or  series  of  acts,  usually  presented  in  heroic 
verse  or  elevated  prose,  and  generally  involving  the  fatal 
issue  of  a  hopeless  struggle.  It  is  the  species  of  drama  that 
deals  with  the  sad  and  terrible  phases  of  life  and  character, 
and  is  in  its  substance  and  spirit  opposed  to  comedy. 


188  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  principle  that  rules  in  tragedy  and  brings  about  the 
situation  of  extremity  and  desperation  has  varied  in  differ- 
ent ages  and  dramas.  Fate  and  its  workings  are  the 
favorite  themes  of  Greek  tragedy,  which  grew  out  of  the 
worship  of  Dionysos.  In  Rome,  the  germ  of  tragedy  was 
found  in  the  comoedia  palliata,  which  was  borrowed  from  the 
Greeks,  and  that  part  of  Roman  tragedy  which  has  survived 
is  associated  with  Seneca,  whose  plays,  free  adaptations  of 
the  works  of  Sophocles  and  Euripides,  were  designed  for 
reading  rather  than  for  the  stage.  The  great  French 
writers  who  founded  the  classical  tragedy  of  France  took 
him  as  their  model.  Forms  of  the  later  Latin  drama  were 
the  comcedia  togata,  which  dealt  with  Roman  life  and  man- 
ners ;  comoedia  prcetexta,  named  from  the  magisterial  dress 
and  approaching  nearest  to  true  tragedy;  comoedia  traheata, 
named  from  the  equestrian  dress;  and  comoadia  tahernaria, 
which  treated  of  tavern  or  low  life.  In  modern  tragedy  the 
characteristic  feature  is  a  conflict  between  the  forces  of  a 
strong  human  nature  and  outside  forces,  either  blind  and 
physical  or  moral  and  spiritual,  affording  a  strong  contrast 
to  ancient  Greek  conception.  According  to  Kames,^  epic 
poetry  employs  narration,  while  tragedy  represents  its  facts 
as  passing  before  our  sight :  in  the  former,  the  poet  intro- 
duces himself  as  a  historian ;  in  the  latter,  he  presents  his 
actors  and  never  himself. 

Comedy  is  the  branch  of  dramatic  art  that  portrays 
laughable  incidents  or  characters,  or  the  ludicrous,  the  sati- 
rical, or  the  gay,  in  a  familiar  or  humorous  style.  In  matter 
and  spirit  it  is  opposed  to  the  tragic,  serious,  or  ceremonial. 
In  a  restricted  sense,  a  comedy  is  an  entertaining  drama 
less  broadly  humorous  than  a  farce.     Comedy  varies  from 

•  "Elements  of  Criticism,"  p.  414. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  189 

a  story  illustrating  the  amusing  side  of  human  life  to  a 
serious  composition  depicting  human  existence  or  portray- 
ing truth  and  ending  happily.  Dante  called  his  "Divina 
Commedia"  a  comedy  because  it  had  a  fortunate  ending. 

Writers  on  the  theater  use  the  term  light  comedy  to  mean 
genteel  comedy  exhibiting  humor  in  refined  and  natural 
language,  dress,  and  action;  and  low  comedy  to  mean 
comedy  that  is  broadly  humorous,  droll,  or  farcical.  A 
musical  comedy  is  an  extravaganza  with  musical  accom- 
paniment. 

Greek  or  Attic  comedy,  the  original  and  typical  form  of 
the  art,  embraces  (1)  the  old  comedy,  in  which  the  charac- 
ters of  living  men  were  satirized  and  given  their  real  names, 
a  thing  forbidden  by  law  about  400  b.c.  ;  (2)  the  middle 
comedy  (lasting  fifty  years),  in  which  the  names  were  ficti- 
tious but  the  characters  real;  and  (3)  the  neiv  comedy,  in 
which  the  characters  as  well  as  the  names  were  fictitious. 

There  are  also  such  minor  forms  of  the  drama  as  the 
tragi-comedy,  a  drama  in  which  tragic  and  comic  scenes 
are  intermingled. 

A  farce  is  a  short  comedy  the  humor  of  which  is  due  to 
exaggeration  of  effects  and  distortion  of  incidents.  As 
Saintsbury'^  has  pointed  out,  the  farce  deals  with  an  actual 
or  possible  incident  of  ordinary  life  to  which  a  comic 
complexion  is  given  by  the  treatment.  Farce  is  that  style 
of  play-writing  in  which  ludicrous  and  extravagant  effects 
are  produced.  It  is  distinguished  from  other  comic  com- 
positions by  the  slightness  of  its  thought  and  its  extrava- 
gant and  ridiculous  self-abandon.  A  farce-comedy  is 
properly  a  farcical  comedy;  but  the  term  is  often  applied 
to  a  form  of  entertainment  in  which  topical  songs,  jokes, 

^  "History  of  French  Literature,"  p.   117. 


190  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

dances,  etc.,  are  strung  on  a  very  slender  dramatic  thread. 

A  burlesque  is,  in  the  drama,  a  dramatic  travesty — 
largely  interspersed  with  music — of  some  popular  legend, 
custom,  romance,  or  play.    It  is  a  dramatic  extravaganza. 

A  melodrama  is  a  drama  with  a  romantic  story  or  plot 
and  sensational  situations.  In  the  melodramas  of  Greece 
the  entrance  of  each  actor  was  accompanied  by  music.  In 
modern  times  the  aim  of  all  such  plays  is  to  thrill  the  crowd 
by  a  series  of  violent  situations  and  unexpected  happenings. 

Plays  are  usually  divided  into  Acts  and  Scenes.  An 
act  is  the  largest  division  of  a  play  or  opera,  forming  an 
incident  or  deed  complete  in  itself.  A  scene  is  a  division  of 
an  act  of  a  play,  comprising  all  that  passes  continuously  at 
one  time  and  place,  or,  as  formerly  and  sometimes  still,  all 
that  passes  between  the  same  persons  in  the  same  place. 

Poetry  is  the  third,  and  remaining,  division  of  liter- 
ature as  suggested  in  the  initial  classification. 

According  to  Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke,^  Poetry  is  the  emo- 
tional interpretation  of  nature  and  life  through  the  imagin- 
ation in  beautiful  and  metrical  language.  It  is  the  type  of 
literature  of  which  the  ruling  factor  is  quickened  emotion, 
the  proper  language  figurative,  the  natural  form  verse,  and 
the  chief  aim  to  impart  imaginative  pleasure. 

The  production  of  poetry  is  classed  as  one  of  the  fine  arts. 
All  the  elements  of  the  highest  type  of  poetry  are  properly 
included  in  a  general  definition  of  this  art.  The  most  im- 
portant are  those  that  belong  to  its  vital  spirit :  ( 1 )  Emo- 
tional intensity ;  (2)  insight;  (3)  imagination.  The  charac- 
teristic elements  of  its  form  are  those  by  which  the  art  is 
most  easily  recognized :  (1)  Abundant  imagery ;  (2)  sugges- 

8  "New  Standard  Dictionary,"  s.v.  Poetry. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  191 

tive  and  revealing  language;  (3)  a  measured  music  of 
words.  Poetry  of  a  lower  type  may  be  weak  in  one  or  other 
of  these  elements  and  yet  be  included  in  poetic  literature ; 
but  there  are  many  critics  who  hold  that  metrical  form  is 
indispensable. 

Professor  Saintsbury^  describes  English  poetry  as  con- 
sisting of  syllables — accented  or  unaccented,  stressed  or 
unstressed — arranged  on  principles  which,  whatever  they 
may  be  in  themselves,  have  no  analogy  to  those  of  classical 
feet. 

A  number  of  terms  referring  to  poetical  compositions  are 
more  or  less  synonymous:  meter,  metrical  composition, 
metrical  writing,  poem,  poesy,  rime,  verse.  Dr.  Fernald^° 
defines  poetry  as  ''that  form  of  literature  which  embodies 
beautiful  thought,  feeling,  or  action  in  melodious,  rhyth- 
mical, and  (usually)  metrical  language  in  imaginative  and 
artistic  constructions.  Poetry  in  a  very  wide  sense  may 
be  anything  that  pleasingly  addresses  the  imagination ;  as, 
the  poetry  of  motion.  In  ordinary  usage  poetry  is  both 
imaginative  and  metrical.  There  may  be  poetry  without 
rime,  but  hardly  without  meter  or  what  in  some  languages 
takes  its  place,  as  the  Hebrew  parallelism;  but  poetry  in- 
volves, besides  the  artistic  form,  the  exercise  of  the  fancy 
or  imagination  in  a  way  always  beautiful,  often  lofty  or 
even  sublime.  Failing  this,  there  may  be  verse,  rime,  and 
meter,  but  not  poetry.  There  is  much  in  literature  that  is 
beautiful  and  sublime  in  thought  and  artistic  in  construc- 
tion, which  is  not  poetry,  because  quite  devoid  of  the 
element  of  song,  whereby  poetry  differs  from  the  most  lofty, 
beautiful,  or  impassioned  prose." 

» "English   Prosody,"   p.    8. 

"  "Synonjins,   Antonyms,   and  Propositions, "  p.   372. 


192  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  original  Greek  division  of  poetry  into  lyric  (express- 
ing personal  emotion),  epic  (narrative  of  moving  events), 
and  dramatic  (presenting  the  interaction  of  human  wills), 
has  been  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  other  types,  as  the 
ballad,  didactic  poetry,  the  dramatic  lyric,  the  idyll,  the 
monodrama,  etc. 

The  elements  of  its  vital  spirit,  as  explained  above,  are 
(1)  emotional  intensity;  (2)  insight;  and  (3)  imagination. 
That  is  to  say,  it  must  be  able  (1)  to  move  us  by  the  presen- 
tation of  the  (2)  truth  which  it  has  discovered,  and  to 
which  it  (3)  has  given  a  new,  beautiful,  and  significant 
shape. 

The  emotions  are  to  be  recognized  as  stronger  than  feel- 
ings or  sentiments. 

Insight  is  the  power  or  faculty  of  immediate  and  acute 
perception  or  understanding,  exercised  (in  poetry)  in  the 
realms  of  moral  truth  and  of  beauty.  It  is  intuition, 
whether  that  power  is  regarded  as  a  general  inner  faculty, 
a  special  capacity  for  a  particular  field  of  view,  or  the  gift 
of  mystical  vision.  By  insight  the  poet  discovers  the 
material  out  of  which  he  makes  poetry. 

The  imagination  faculty  is  the  third  vital  element  of 
poetry.  This  supreme  power  of  the  artist — of  the  human 
mind,  in  fact — is  so  fundamental  in  the  production  of 
poetry,  or  of  any  other  form  of  art,  and  imparts  to  its 
product  so  much  of  the  fundamental  and  essential  character 
of  that  product,  that  a  student  of  poetry  or  of  any  other 
form  of  art  must  give  the  term  Imagination  very  careful 
and  detailed  consideration. 

Two  main  aspects  or  functions  of  the  imagination  are  to 
be  noticed.  These  are:  (1)  the  act  or  power  of  imaging  or 
of  re-imaging  objects  of  perception  or  thought — its  less  sig- 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  193 

nificant  function;  (2)  the  act  or  power  of  combining  the 
products  of  past  experience  in  modified,  new  or  ideal  forms. 
In  the  latter,  its  more  significant  function,  it  is  the  creative 
or  constructive  power  of  the  mind.  The  word  has  been 
used  in  wide  and  various  senses  in  common  life  and  litera- 
ture, as  well  as  in  the  psychological  sciences. 

Professor  Ladd^^  defines  the  imagination  specifically  as, 
(1)  The  picturing  power  or  act  of  the  mind;  the  formation 
of  mental  images,  pictures,  or  mental  representations  of 
objects  or  ideas,  particularly  of  objects  of  sense-perception 
and  of  mathematical  reasoning ;  also,  the  reproduction  and 
combination,  usually  with  more  or  less  of  modification,  of 
the  images  or  ideas  of  memory  or  recalled  facts,  of  experi- 
ence ;  imaginative  reproduction :  embracing  fantasy,  fancy, 
and  imagination  in  its  common  acceptation ;  as,  the  imagina- 
tion rules  in  reverie  and  dreams;  the  imagination  of  the 
reveler.  (2)  The  mental  representation  of  past  knowledges 
of  whatever  kind,  especially  past  knowledges  of  external 
and  sense  objects;  re-imaging  power;  spontaneous  and  un- 
controlled play  of  images  in  consciousness — fantasy.  (3) 
The  act  of  constructive  intellect  in  grouping  the  materials  of 
knowledge  or  thought  into  new,  original,  and  rational 
systems;  the  constructive  or  creative  faculty,  embracing 
poetry,  artistic,  philosophic,  scientific,  and  ethical  imagina- 
tion. This  sense  includes  the  rational  and  constructive 
element  of  taste  or  the  esthetic  faculty. 

It  is  with  the  first  and  the  third  of  these  specific  defini- 
tions that  the  student  of  poetry  is  concerned ;  namely,  with 
imagination  as  **the  reproduction  and  combination  of  the 
images  of  memory,"  and  as  ''the  act  of  constructive  intel- 
lect in  grouping  the  materials  of  knowledge  or  thought  into 

''  "New  Standard  Dictionary,"   s.v.  Imagination. 


194  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

neW;  original  and  rational  systems."  The  poetic  imagina- 
tion is  the  creative  imagination  as  employed  in  the  produc- 
tion of  noble  or  elevating  pictures,  or  of  artistic  literary 
construction,  fixed  and  expressed  by  rhythmical  language. 

The  characteristic  elements  of  Poetry  are  (1)  abundant 
imagery;  (2)  suggestive  and  revealing  language;  and  (3) 
a  measured  music  of  words.  As  among  the  vital  elements 
of  poetry  the  imaginative  element  is  supreme,  so  among 
the  elements  of  poetic  form  that  of  meter — * '  measured  music 
of  words" — is  the  chief  characteristic. 

In  rhetoric,  imagery  as  an  act  or  as  a  rhetorical  product 
is  figurative  description  in  speech.  As  an  effect  it  is  the 
mental  images  produced  by  the  use  of  figurative  language. 
The  obvious  means  of  creating  poetic  imagery  is  figurative 
language — the  use  of  figures  of  speech.  A  figure  of  speech 
is  a  form  of  expression  that  deviates  intentionally  from 
the  ordinary  mode  of  speech  for  the  sake  of  more  powerful, 
pleasing,  or  distinctive  effect.  Figures  of  speech  are  pic- 
torial or  poetic  language. 

Rhetorical  figures  may  be  classed  as  follows:  I.  Those 
depending  (1)  on  the  kind  of  words  employed,  tropes,  and 

(2)  on  the  number  of  words  employed,  (a)  repetition  and 
(b)  ellipsis.  II.  Those  depending  on  the  representative 
imagery  employed.  (1)  Figures  that  consist  in  a  change 
of  the  presentation  of  the  represented  object — (a)  in  nature, 
personification;  (b)  in  relations,  vision;  (e)  in  degree, 
hyperhole.     (2)  Those  consisting  in  comparison  or  contrast. 

(3)  Those  consisting  in  a  deviation  from  the  ordinary  mode 
of  expressing  the  views  or  mental  condition  of  the  speaker ; 
embracing  (a)  those  in  which  another  is  personated,  proso- 
popeia;  (b)  those  in  which  another  is  addressed,  apostrophe; 
and    (c)    those  in  which  the  conception  is  changed  from 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  195 

reality,  including  irony,  doubt,  and  interrogation.  (4) 
Those  depending  on  the  structure  of  the  sentence,  as  (a) 
on  its  order,  inversion;  (b)  on  its  connection,  anacoluthon; 
(c)  on  its  completeness,  aposiopesis;  (d)  on  its  fulness, 
sententiousncss. 

Comparison,  from  the  point  of  view  of  rhetoric,  is  a  set- 
ting forth  of  the  points  of  similarity  or  contrast  between 
one  thing  and  another.  Comparison  includes  (1)  compari- 
son proper,  in  which  the  properties  of  the  representative 
object  are  formally  attributed  to  the  other;  (2)  the  simile, 
which  turns  the  mind  on  the  representative  object  itself; 
(3)  contrast,  which  emphasizes  points  of  difference;  (4) 
allusion,  which  closely  approaches  metaphor,  comparative 
words  being  omitted;  and  (5)  allegory,  embracing  (a) 
allegory  proper,  an  extended  simile,  omitting  comparative 
words;  (b)  fable,  a  short  narrative  allegory  with  a  moral; 
and  (c)  parable,  a  narrative  or  descriptive  allegory  found- 
ed on  real  scenes  and  inculcating  religious  truth. 

A  discussion  of  the  individual  figures  of  speech  belongs 
to  rhetoric  rather  than  to  literature.  By  means  largely  of 
imagery  language  becomes  suggestive,  revealing.  What  is 
meant  by  this  is  unfolded  in  the  treatment  of  the  terms 
suggestion  and  suggestive.  Suggestion  is  the  imparting  or 
exciting  of  a  notion  or  idea  in  an  indirect  or  unobtrusive 
way.  A  suggestion  brings  something  before  the  mind  less 
directly  than  by  formal  or  explicit  statement.  A  suggestion 
may  be  given  unintentionally,  and  even  unconsciously,  as 
when  we  say  an  author  has  "a  suggestive  style."  Sug- 
gestive means  stimulating  to  thought  or  reflection.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  meaning  of  the  term  a  poet's  and  a 
botanist's  description  of  a  buttercup  may  be  cited.  The  one 
by  means  of  suggestive  language  makes  the  flower  glow 


196  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

and  dance  before  us  as  in  life;  the  other  by  means  of  ex- 
plicit statement  lays  before  us  the  dead  husk  of  what  once 
lived. 

The  third  element  of  poetic  form  is  its  Metrical  Char- 
acter. As  stated  in  the  definition  of  poetry  quoted  on 
page  190,  metrical  form  is  by  most  critics  considered  in- 
dispensable to  poetry.  Meter  is  a  measured  verbal  rhythm. 
It  constitutes  the  structure  of  verse.  It  is  a  definite 
arrangement  of  groups  of  syllables  in  a  line,  having  a  time- 
unit  and  a  regular  beat.  Applied  to  the  stanza,  it  is  a 
specific  sequence  of  such  lines  in  a  stanza.  In  Greek  and 
Latin  meter  the  length  of  the  syllables  is  the  controlling 
factor;  in  English,  the  stress,  or  metrical  accent,  is  the 
structural  element.     See  prosody,  below. 

The  meter  of  a  line  is  named  from  the  number  and  char- 
acter of  the  feet,  or  measures,  which  it  contains ;  as,  iambic 
pentameter,  dactylic  hexameter.  But  in  Latin  and  Greek, 
verse  of  certain  kinds  is  measured  by  double  feet;  thus  an 
iambic  trimeter — six  iambs.  The  meter  of  a  stanza  is  named 
from  the  number  and  character  of  its  lines ;  as,  a  tetrameter 
quatrain;  or  specific  names  are  given;  as,  an  Alcaic  ode,  the 
Spenserian  stanza,  ottava  rima,  rime  royale. 

In  hymnology  the  term  meter  means  the  form  of  a  stanza 
of  a  certain  number  of  lines,  each  of  which  has  a  certain 
number  of  accented  syllable-groups  or  feet.  Such  a  stanza 
is  often  incorrectly  called  a  "verse."  There  are  various 
kinds  of  meter  as  the  following  will  show:  Iambic  meters 
are  (1)  common  meter,  in  which  the  stanza  is  composed  of 
four  lines  alternately  of  four  and  of  three  iambic  feet ;  (2) 
long  meter,  in  which  the  stanza  contains  four  lines  of  four 
feet  each;  and  (3)  short  meter,  in  which  the  first  two  lines 
have  three  feet,  the  third  four,  and  the  fourth  three.  When 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  197 

the  stanza  is  doubled  the  meter  is  called  common  meter 
double,  long  meter  double,  etc.  Sometimes  long  meter  has 
six  lines  to  the  stanza,  and  is  then  known  as  long  meter  six 
lines,  or  long  particular  meter.  Common  particular  meter 
contains  two  lines  of  four  iambics  each,  then  one  line  of  three 
iambics,  then  two  more  lines  of  four  iambics,  and  then  one 
more  of  three  iambics.  Short  particular  meter  has  two  lines 
or  three  iambics  followed  by  one  of  four,  and  then  two  more 
of  three  followed  by  one  of  four.  Halleluiah  meter  contains 
four  lines  of  three  feet  or  six  syllables,  each  followed  by  two 
lines  of  four  feet  or  eight  syllables.  The  meter  tens  has  lines 
each  composed  of  five  feet;  in  sevens  and  sixes  the  stanza 
is  composed  of  either  four  or  eight  lines,  each  of  which 
contains  three  iambics,  the  odd-numbered  lines  ending  with 
an  added  unaccented  syllable.  Trochaic  meters  are  sevens, 
eights  and  sevens,  sixes,  sixes  and  fives,  etc.  These  names 
indicate  the  number  of  syllables  in  the  lines;  lines  having 
an  odd  number  terminate  with  an  added  accented  syllable. 
Dactylic  meters,  as  also  anapestic,  are  elevens,  elevens  and 
tens,  etc. 

Fernald^-  gives  further  definition  of  the  term  meter  in 
discriminating  its  synonymous  terms,  as,  euphony,  measure, 
rhythm,  verse.  Euphony  is  agreeable  linguistic  sound, 
however  produced;  meter,  measure,  and  rhythm  denote 
agreeable  succession  of  sounds  in  the  utterance  of  connected 
words ;  euphony  may  apply  to  a  single  word  or  even  a  single 
syllable;  the  other  words  apply  to  lines,  sentences,  para- 
graphs, etc.;  rhythm  and  meter  may  be  produced  by  accent 
only,  as  in  English,  or  by  accent  and  quantity  combined, 
as  in  Greek  or  Italian ;  rhythm  or  measure  may  apply  either 
to  prose  or  to  poetry,  or  to  music,  dancing,  etc. ;  meter 

"  "SynonymF,  Antonyms,  and  Prrpositions,"  p.  328. 


198  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

applies  only  to  poetry,  and  denotes  an  orderly  and  meas- 
ured rhythm  with  regular  divisions  into  verses,  stanzas, 
strophes,  etc.  A  verse  is  strictly  a  metrical  line,  but  the 
word  is  often  used  as  synonymous  with  stanza.  Verse,  in 
the  general  sense,  denotes  metrical  writing  without  refer- 
ence to  the  thought  involved. 

Composition  written  in  meter  is  Verse.  The  term  verse, 
like  the  term  meter,  is  the  basis  of  a  number  of  phrases 
which  apply  to  details  of  the  form  of  poetry. 

Verse  is  metrical  composition  as  distinguished  from  prose. 
In  another  sense,  a  verse  is  a  single  metrical  line  made  up 
of  a  number  of  feet,  arranged  according  to  a  specific  rule. 
"With  an  appropriate  adjective  the  term  applies  to  a  certain 
type  of  metrical  composition  as  distinguished  by  form,  or 
style,  or  theme;  as  blank  verse,  heroic  verse,  hexameter 
verse,  etc. 

Blank  verse  is  verse  without  rime.  Heroic  verse  is  verse 
adapted  to  heroic  or  lofty  themes,  and  is  used  especially  in 
epic  and  dramatic  poetry,  as  the  hexameter  in  Greek  and 
Latin,  the  ottava  rima  in  Italian,  the  Alexandrine  in  the 
French  drama,  and  the  heroic  couplet  and  blank  verse,  with 
various  other  combinations  of  iambic  verse,  in  English. 

Epic  verse  is  the  verse  employed  in  epic  poetry.  The 
measures  used  by  epic  poets  are  various:  in  Latin  and 
Greek,  the  dactylic  hexameter;  in  Italian,  the  terza  rima 
or  the  stanzaic  measure  of  Tasso;  in  Spanish  ("The  Cid") 
and  old  French,  assonance;  in  Anglo-Saxon,  alliterative 
lines;  in  English,  the  blank  verse  of  Milton  and  Tennyson, 
the  heroic  couplet  of  Pope,  the  stanza  of  Spenser,  and  the 
trochaic  tetrameter  of  Longfellow's  poem  ''Hiawatha." 

As  stated  above  the  word  verse  is  often  used  incor- 
rectly  to   denote   stanza.     A   verse    is   a   single   line ;    a 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  199 

stanza  is  a  certain  number  of  lines  of  verse  grouped 
in  a  definite  scheme  of  meter  and  sequence,  and  usually 
corresponding  to  the  other  line-groups  in  the  same 
poem.  It  is,  therefore,  a  metrical  division  composed 
of  lines,  as  the  line  is  composed  of  feet.  In  English 
verse  the  structural  factor  of  the  stanza  is  generally  the 
rime,  which  binds  the  lines  together.  Two  rimed  lines 
form  a  couplet,  three  a  triplet.  A  four-line  stanza  is  often 
called  a  quatrain ;  a  six-lined  stanza,  a  sestet;  an  eight-lined 
stanza,  an  octave.  Favorite  stanzaic  forms  in  English  are 
the  four-stress  quatrain  with  alternate  rimes,  the  rime 
royal  in  seven  decasyllabic  lines  (aiahhcc),  the  Spenserian 
in  eight  decasyllabic  lines  and  an  Alexandrine  {ahabhchcc) . 
the  ottava  rima  of  ''Don  Juan"  and  Keats 's  ** Isabella" 
(ahahahcc),  and  the  ode-stanza  of  Gray,  Wordsworth,  and 
others.  The  letters  in  the  parentheses  show  the  arrange- 
ment of  rimes. 

Rime  is  an  important  though  not  essential  element  in 
poetical  form.  As  the  term  is  now  used,  rime^^  is  a  corres- 
pondence of  sound  in  the  accented  vowels  (not  initials) 
and  the  following  letters,  if  any,  of  the  final  feet  of  two 
or  more  lines  of  verse.  Occurring  in  the  initial  letters  of 
words,  a  correspondence  of  sound  is  called  alliteration.  If 
it  is  in  final  syllables,  and  is  in  vowel  sounds  only,  it  is 
called  assonance.  End-rime  is  usually  the  organizing 
factor  of  the  stanza  in  modern  English  verse,  and  is  what 
is  commonly  understood  by  the  word  rime. 

Alliteration  and  assonance  were  used  in  Anglo-Saxon 
Romance,  and  early  English  verse;  end-rime  is  modern, 

**  The  spelling  rhyme,  although  commoner  in  literature  than  the  older  rime, 
is  etymologically  incorrect,  having  been  introduced  in  the  sixteenth  century 
through  a  mistaken  connection  with  rhythm.  The  use  of  the  older  spelling 
has  now  been  revived  by  many  writers. 


200  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

and  was  introduced  into  English  in  imitation  of  Latin 
hymns  and  French  lyrics.  Where  the  accented  vowels  in 
a  rime  are  followed  by  an  unaccented  or  light  syllable,  it 
is  called  a  feminine  rime;  as,  making — taking.  "Where 
there  are  two  light  syllables,  it  is  called  a  triple  rime;  as, 
tenderly — slenderly.  Where  riming  words  occur  at  the 
end  of  the  first  natural  pause  in  a  line,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  line,  it  is  called  an  internal  or  leonine  rime.  A  com- 
plete identity  of  sounds  (including  initials)  in  the  members 
of  a  rime  (as  fair — fare)  is  called  a  perfect  rime.  While 
allowed  in  French,  this  is  inadmissible  in  modern  English 
verse. 

The  fundamental  divisions  of  Poetry  are  (1)  lyric,  (2) 
epic,  and  (3)  dramatic.  To  these  terms  further  names  are 
added  distinguishing  certain  forms  unknown  to  or  un- 
recognized by  the  ancients ;  as,  didactic  poetry,  the  ballad, 
the  dramatic  lyric,  the  dramatic  monolog,  etc.  Lyric 
Poetry  is  that  form  of  which  the  main  object  is  to  express 
emotion  directly  and  personally.  It  is  verse  of  quickened 
feeling  and  song-like  form.  In  lyric  poetry,  the  poet  gives 
vent  to  his  personal  emotions,  or  experiences.  The  term 
lyric,  then,  as  applied  to  poetry,  does  not  mean  specifically 
"adapted  for  singing  to  the  lyre,"  but  rather  designates 
the  contents  and  spirit  of  the  poetry  so  named. 

Lyric  poetry  includes  various  subordinate  forms,  as  the 
sonnet  and  the  elegy,  not  now  set  to  music,  and  the  ode, 
song,  psalm,  and  hymn,  which  imply  or  suggest  a  musical 
setting.  There  are  yet  other  forms,  mostly  felt  as  foreign 
to  English  poetry,  such  as  madrigal,  rondeau,  villanelle, 
triolet,  etc.  These  are  distinguished  each  by  its  metrical 
or  stanzaic  structure. 

A  sonnet  is  a  poem  of  fourteen  lines,  usually  in  iambic 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  201 

pentameter,  riming  according  to  a  prescribed  scheme.  The 
sonnet  came  into  English  verse  from  Italy  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  There  are  two  principal  forms:  (1)  The  so- 
called  Italian  sonnet  consists  of  14  iambic  pentameter  lines, 
arranged  thus :  an  octave,  riming  ahh  a,  aih  a,  and  a 
sestet,  riming  cde,  cde,  or  cde,  d  cd,  or  cde,  dee,  or 
c  d  e,  e  dc.  A  rime  in  the  last  couplet  is  permissible,  but 
disapproved  by  most  critics.  The  octave  is  supposed  to 
introduce  the  main  idea  or  sentiment,  which  the  sestet 
develops,  or  illustrates  by  comparison  or  contrast.  (2)  The 
Elizabethan  or  Shakespearian  sonnet  consists  of  14  iambic 
pentameter  lines,  arranged  in  quatrains  of  interwoven  rime 
and  closing  with  a  rimed  couplet. 

An  elegy  is  a  lyric  poem  lamenting  the  dead,  as  Shelley's 
"Adonais." 

An  ode,  in  ancient  usage,  was  a  lyric  poem  intended  to 
be  sung  or  chanted;  in  modern  usage,  it  is  any  lyric  of 
lofty  tone  dealing  progressively  with  one  dignified  theme. 
In  ancient  Greek  the  ode  embraced  the  choral  songs  and 
other  lyrics  in  tragedy  and  comedy.  Its  principal  forms 
were  (1)  the  monody,  recited  by  the  actors;  (2)  the  par  ode, 
the  stasimon,  and  the  parabasis,  recited  by  the  choreutae, 
or  members  of  the  chorus;  (3)  the  kommos  (a  wild  lament 
for  the  dead),  sung  alternately  by  one  or  more  of  the 
chief  actors  and  the  chorus. 

The  modern  ode  does  not  necessarily  follow  the  classical 
model,  being  more  free  in  form,  as  Dry  den's  **  Alexander's 
Feast,"  Keats 's  *'0n  a  Grecian  Urn,"  and  Wordsworth's 
'  *  Ode  on  Intimations  of  Immortality. ' '  Some  English  odes 
are  regular  but  somewhat  intricate  in  structure,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  classical  ode ;  that  is,  they  consist  of  two  stanzas 
of  like  form,  the  strophe  and  the  antistrophe,  and  a  third 


202  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

of  different  form,  the  epode,  this  combination  being  one  or 
more  times  repeated.  But  most  of  the  English  poems  called 
odes,  as  Dry  den's  for  "St.  Cecilia's  Day"  or  Wordsworth's 
on  ' '  Intimations  of  Immortality, ' '  are  irregular  in  metrical 
structure. 

The  strophe,  in  classical  poetry,  was  a  group  of  lines  of 
poetry,  arranged  in  a  certain  order,  and  repeated  one  or 
more  times  in  an  ode,  or  dramatic  chorus.  It  corresponded 
to  the  repetition  of  an  air  in  music,  or  to  the  turning  of  the 
chorus  in  a  drama  as  they  passed,  chanting,  from  the  cen- 
tral altar  to  the  side  of  the  stage.  As  Gummere"  shows, 
strophe  means  literally  **a  turning."  At  the  end  of  the 
strophe  we  turn,  and  repeat  the  same  conditions.  Stanza, 
under  another  symbol  means  the  same  thing.  Strictly,  a 
strophe  was  the  first  of  a  pair  of  such  verse-groups,  corres- 
ponding to  the  second  or  antistrophe.  To  these  a  third 
group,  called  an  epode,  was  sometimes  added,  thus  consti- 
tuting a  triple  division  of  an  ode.  Ben  Jonson  rendered 
these  names  in  English  as  turn,  counter-turn,  and  stand. 

Other  forms  of  the  lyric,  as  song,  psalm,  hymn,  are' 
familiar.  The  dramatic  lyric  is  a  lyric  poem  ' '  characterized 
by  the  action  and  spirit  of  the  drama. ' '  That  is,  the  poem 
suggests  vividly  both  the  character  of  the  speaker  and  the 
action  supposed  to  accompany  the  words. 

The  ballad  was  in  origin  a  lyric  poem ;  but  being  narra- 
tive it  tended  to  grow  by  accretion  and  to  take  more  and 
more  an  objective  and  sometimes  dramatic  form.  The 
simple  story  thus  grew  toward  epic  elevation  and  propor- 
tions. 

Epic  Poetry. — An  epic  is  a  poem  in  which  actions  or 
events  in  related  sequence  are  presented  by  narration  and 

"  "Poetics,"  p.  236. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  203 

description.  The  term  applies  especially  to  a  poem  cele- 
brating in  stately,  formal  verse  the  real  or  mythical  achieve- 
ments of  great  personages,  heroes,  or  demigods.  Dr.  Van 
Dyke^**  has  given  us  a  convenient  generic  distribution  of 
epics  in  the  wide  sense,  as  (1)  the  higher  epic  or  heroic, 
narrating  a  great  action,  as  of  heroes,  demigods,  and  gods ; 
(2)  the  middle  epic,  or  poetic  tale;  and  (3)  the  mock-heroic 
or  hurlesque.  Epics  are  also  variously  classed  and  named, 
according  to  their  origin,  special  themes,  etc. :  (a)  Epics  of 
growth,  or  collections  of  ballads  of  different  authorship, 
anonymous,  which  seem  to  have  grown  up  spontaneously, 
such  as  "Beowulf,"  the  " Mahabharata, "  the  "Nibelungen- 
lied,"  and  the  "Kalevala";  (&)  The  epics  of  art,  in  which 
a  single  poet  concentrates  his  poem  about  some  great  central 
figure,  as  Homer's  "Iliad,"  Homer's  "Odyssey,"  Vergil's 
"^neid,"  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost,"  and  Tasso's  "Jeru- 
salem Delivered."  (c)  The  mixed  epic  of  growth  and  art 
combined,  as  Firdusi's  "Shah  Nameh,"  (d)  The  heroic 
poem,  such  as  the  * '  Chanson  de  Roland ' '  and  the  ' '  Orlando 
Furioso,"  describing  medieval  knights  and  heroes,  (e) 
Sacred  epics,  such  as  Dante's  "Divina  Commedia"  and 
Klopstock's  "Messias."  (/)  Historical  epics,  such  as 
Camoens 's  " Lusiad "  and  Lucan 's  ' '  Pharsalia. "  (g)  Mock 
epics,  such  as  Butler's  "Hudibras,"  "Reynard  the  Fox," 
the  "Batrachomyoraachia"  (Frogmousiad) ,  and  Pope's 
"Rape  of  the  Lock."  "Paradise  Lost"  has  been  pro- 
nounced the  epic  of  English  Puritanism  and  of  Protestant 
Christianity. 

A  sort  of  epic  poem,  or  minor  epic,  is  called  the  idyl, 
which  was  originally  a  short  poem  descriptive  of  rustic  or 
pastoral  life,  as  the  "Cotter's  Saturday  Night"  of  Burns, 

"  "New  Standard  Dictionary,"  s.v.  Epic. 


204  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

or  the  "Idyls"  of  Theocritus.  By  extension  the  term  has 
come  to  mean  a  short  and  highly  wrought  description,  and, 
more  loosely,  a  more  extended  descriptive  or  narrative  poem 
of  elevated  and  artistic  style.  As  a  narrative  poem  the 
idyl  is  a  minor  epic  with  a  content,  spirit  and  style  that 
make  it  akin  alsa  to  the  pastoral. 

Just  as  the  origins  of  the  Romance  take  the  student  of 
literature  back  close  to  the  origins  of  the  modern  European 
literatures,  so  the  Epics  of  Growth  go  back  to  the  ballad, 
the  primitive  folk-poem  of  a  people.  The  folk-ballad  ex- 
panded as  the  legend  it  told  grew  by  accretion ;  and,  when 
several  such  overgrown  legends  collected  about  a  national 
hero  or  a  national  event,  the  overgrown  ballads  which  re- 
cited them  coalesced  into  a  national  epic.  Such  is  by  many 
supposed  to  have  been  the  origin  of  the  genuine  folk  epic 
like  the  English  ''Beowulf,"  the  Greek  "Iliad,"  the  Ger- 
man ' '  Nibelungenlied. ' '  But,  of  course,  the  welding  of  the 
original  materials  into  an  organic  whole  demanded  the 
constructive  power  of  an  artist,  and  hence  even  these  older 
national  epics  are  in  some  degree  also  Epics  of  Art. 

The  term  ballad  is  used  in  two  senses,  which  must  be 
distinguished:  (1)  It  designates  a  simple  lyrical  poem, 
telling  a  story  or  legend,  usually  of  popular  origin ;  as,  the 
"Ballad  of  Chevy  Chase."  A  writer  in  the  "British 
Quarterly  Review"  has  pointed  out  that  the  English  ballad 
possesses  three  main  distinguishing  characteristics:  (a) 
narration  in  substance;  (&)  lyric  form;  and  (c)  traditional 
origin.  (2)  In  another  sense,  the  term  connotes  a  simple 
popular  song,  amatory,  proverbial,  laudatory,  or  satirical, 
usually  consisting  of  two  stanzas,  each  of  which  is  sung  to 
the  same  melody,  the  musical  accompaniment  being  invari- 
ablv  subordinate  to  the  air. 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  205 

The  first  is  the  distinctly  literary  sense;  and  in  this 
specific  sense  one  must  distinguish  two  kinds  of  ballad:  (a) 
the  genuine  folk-ballad  or  folk-song"^  originating  and  cur- 
rent among  the  common  people,  and  hence,  being  in  a 
measure  of  communal  origin,  not  associated  with  any  indi- 
vidual author;  and  (&)  the  literary  ballad  written  by  an 
individual  author  in  imitation  of  the  folk-ballad.  The 
folk-ballad  is  largely  represented  in  Percy's  "Reliques  of 
Ancient  English  Poesie." 

Dramatic  Poetry  is  the  third  division  of  poetry  as  the 
ancient  critics  treated  the  topic.  The  classical  drama,  and 
also  modern  drama  in  its  earlier  and  greater  period,  used 
metrical  language  as  its  vehicle.  At  the  present  time  an 
occasional  "poetical  drama"  is  produced;  but  the  great 
period  of  English  drama  was  about  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century  (Shakespeare  and  his  contemporaries)  ; 
of  French  drama  was  toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  (Corneille,  Racine,  Moliere)  ;  and  of  German  drama 
was  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  (Lessing, 
Schiller,  Goethe).  The  dramatic  product  of  these  periods 
was  in  verse. 

A  special  kind  of  dramatic  composition  is  named  dra- 
matic monologue.  This  is  a  dramatic  soliloquy,  or  a  story 
or  drama  told  or  performed  by  one  person.  Dramatic  mono- 
logue has  taken  three  farms:  (1)  when  the  actor  tells  a 
continuous  story  in  which  he  is  the  chief  character,  referring 
to  the  others  as  absent;  (2)  when  he  assumes  the  voice  or 
manner  of  several  characters  successively;  (3)  more  re- 
cently, when  he  implies  that  the  others  are  present,  leading 
the  audience  to  imagine  what  they  say  by  his  replies.  It  is 
in  this  third  form  that  Browning's  poetic  genius  found 
frequent  effective  expression,  as  in  "My  Last  Duchess." 


206  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

On  the  borderland  between  poetry  and  non-poetry  is  a 
class  of  composition  in  verse  to  which  the  classical  scheme 
of  kinds  of  poetry  gives  no  place.  It  is  one  of  the  added 
types  and  is  known  as  Didactic  Poetry — the  form  of  poetry 
that  embodies  ideas  regarded  as  thought,  rather  than  as 
feeling  or  action;  the  poetry  of  the  intellect.  Its  main 
divisions  are:  (1)  didactic  poetry  proper,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  embody  or  teach  some  truth  or  system  of  truth — 
including  (a)  moral  and  religious,  and  (&)  critical,  as 
Pope's  "Moral  Essays";  (2)  descriptive  poetry — including 
(a)  descriptive  poetry  proper  of  things  and  events;  (&) 
pastoral ;  (c)  satirical,  etc.  How  high  such  poetry  may  rise 
in  the  scale  of  poetical  quality  depends  upon  the  genius  of 
the  author.  In  the  treatment  of  the  subject,  the  purpose 
has  been  to  be  as  inclusive  as  the  importance  of  the  theme 
requires.  There  are  some  bypaths  along  which  the  reader 
has  not  been  led  because  they  in  turn  lead  to  themes  that 
are  not  germane  to  the  subject  under  consideration. 

As  these  pages  are  passing  through  the  press,  the  subject 
of  the  school  course  in  English  is  again  receiving  the 
attention  of  educators.  There  is  a  tendency,  in  certain 
parts  of  the  country,  to  modernize  the  curriculum,  and  in 
one  of  our  central  States  some  of  the  changes  proposed 
include  such  a  radical  substitution  as  the  study  of  "Cab- 
bages and  Kings"  for  that  of  "Paradise  Lost";  that  is  to 
say,  the  writings  of  the  late  Sydney  Porter,  better  known 
by  the  pseudonym  "0.  Henry,"  are  to  take  the  place  of 
those  of  Milton,  The  President 's  addresses  to  Congress  are 
to  be  studied  in  preference  to  the  works  of  Shakespeare, 
but  while  Shakespeare's  writings  will  still  be  used  sparingly 
(for  which  one  may  be  excused  for  offering  a  prayer  of 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  207 

thanks),  the  monotony  of  applying  the  mind  to  the  Bard 
of  Avon's  exquisite  work  is  to  be  relieved  by  studying  the 
writings  of  Bernard  Shaw  and  Oscar  Wilde !  As  an  anti- 
dote to  Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair,"  Kipling's  "The  Light 
that  Failed "  is  to  be  taken.  In  fine,  it  is  declared  that  the 
worth  of  the  English  classics  is  a  negligible  quantity — 
teachers,  we  are  told,  are  "killing  the  love  of  literature  by 
forcing  upon  pupils  too  much  Carlyle,  Scott,  Thackeray, 
and  Dickens."  As  a  further  excuse  for  the  substitutions 
suggested,  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  great  English  poets 
and  masters  of  literature  did  not  write  or  speak  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  present  day.  For  this  weighty  reason, 
therefore,  students  of  English  speech  and  literature  are  to 
be  enticed  from  the  classics  by  Shavian  bait  and  the 
brilliant  but  suggestive  essays  that  compose  "The  Picture 
of  Dorian  Gray!" 

These  proposals  imply  a  morbid  abhorrence  for  the  study 
of  the  accepted  standards  of  beauty  of  expression  and  of 
form  so  trying  to  the  patience  that  one  is  driven  to  ask 
whether  it  is  not  the  teachers  of  English  who  are  at  fault 
rather  than  the  well  of  good  English  that  has  run  dry.  As 
the  editor  of  an  evening  paper^^  recently  remarked,  "To 
insist  on  diluting  Shakespeare  with  Bernard  Shaw  does, 
indeed,  indicate  a  certain  futility  of  mental  process  which 
does  not  command  respect."  It  may  be  pointed  out  that  in 
regard  to  forms  of  speech  the  present  usage  of  society  as  a 
whole — with  its  jargon  and  its  conventionally  imposed  bad 
grammar  and  vicious  syntax — is  not  more  authoritative 
than  the  illiterate  or  obsolescent  phrases  of  passed  gener- 
ations. 

Whatever  success  the  proposal  referred  to  may  have  it 

'*  "The  Evening  Sun,"  New  York,  December  4,  1914. 


208  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

can  not  be  immediate,  and  there  is  ground  for  congratu- 
lation that  the  National  Conference  of  Associated  Colleges 
and  Preparatory  Schools  of  New  England,  the  Middle 
States  and  Maryland,  the  North  Central  States,  the  Central 
Atlantic  States,  and  the  Southern  States,  has  determined 
that  the  entrance  requirements  in  English  for  the  years 
1915  to  1919  inclusive  shall  embrace,  in  the  Department  of 
Literature,  the  study  of  the  following  groups: 

A.  For  Reading 

Group  I.  Classics  in  Translation:  (1)  The  Old  Testament, 
comprising  at  least  the  chief  narrative  episodes  in  Genesis, 
Ex'odus,  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  and  Daniel,  together 
with  the  Books  of  Ruth  and  Esther.  (2)  The  "Odyssey,"  Books 
VI  to  XIV — the  others  may  be  studied,  if  desired.  (3)  The 
"Iliad,"  Books  I  to  X,  XII,  XVI,  and  XVIII  to  XX— the 
others  may  be  studied,  if  desired.  (4)  The  "Mneid."  The 
"Odyssey,"  "Iliad"  and  "^neid"  should  be  read  in  English 
translations  of  recognized  literary  excellence.  For  any  selection 
from  this  group  a  selection  from  any  other  group  may  be 
substituted. 

Group  II.     Shakespeare:     (1)   "Midsummer  Night's  Dream"; 

(2)  "Merchant  of  Venice";  (3)  "As  You  Like  It" ;  (4)  "Twelfth 
Night";  (5)  "The  Tempest";  (6)  "Romeo  and  Juliet";  (7) 
"King  John";  (8)  "Richard  II.";  (9)  "Richard  III.";  (10) 
"Henry  V.";  (11)  "Coriolanus"  •  (12)  "Julius  Caesar";  (13) 
"Macbeth";  (14)  "Hamlet." 

Group  III.  Prose  Fiction:  (1)  Malory,  "Morte  d'Arthur" 
(about  100  pages);   (2)  Bunyan,  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  part  I: 

(3)  Swift,  "Gulliver's  Travels"  (voyages  to  Lilliput  and  to 
Brobdingnag)  ;  (4)  Defoe,  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  part  I;  (5)  Gold- 
smith, "Vicar  of  Wakefield";  (6)  Frances  Burney,  "Evelina"; 
(7)  Scott's  Novels,  any  one;  (8)  Jane  Austen's  Novels,  any  one; 

(9)  Maria  Edgeworth,  "Castle  Rackrent,"  or  "The  Absentee"; 

(10)  Dickens's  Novels,  any  one;  (11)  Thackeray's  Novels,  any 
one;  (12)  George  Eliot's  Novels,  any  one;  (13)  Mrs.  Gaskell, 
"Cranford";  (14)  Kingsley,  "Westward  Ho!"  or  "Hereward,  the 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  209 

Wake";  (15)  Reade,  "The  Cloister  and  the  Hearth";  (16) 
Blackmore,  "Lorna  Doone";  (17)  Hughes,  "Tom  Brown's 
Schooldays";  (18)  Stevenson's  "Treasure  Island,"  or  "Kid- 
napped," or  "Master  of  Ballantrae";  (19)  Cooper's  Novels,  any 
one;  (20)  Poe,  "Selected  Tales";  (21)  Hawthorne,  "The  House 
of  the  Seven  Gables,"  or  "Twice  Told  Tales,"  or  "Mosses  from 
an  Old  Manse";  (22)  A  collection  of  Short  Stories  by  various 
standard  writers. 

Group  IV.  Essays,  Biography,  etc.:  (1)  Addison  and  Steele, 
"The  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers,"  or  selections  from  "The 
Tatler"  and  "The  Spectator"  (about  200  pages) ;  (2)  Boswell, 
selections  from  the  "Life  of  Johnson"  (about  200  pages) ;  (3) 
Franklin,  "Autobiography";  (4)  Irving,  selections  from  the 
"Sketch  Book"  (about  200  pages),  or  "Life  of  Goldsmith";  (5) 
Southey,  "Life  of  Nelson";  (6)  Lamb,  selections  from  the 
"Essays  of  Elia"  (about  100  pages)  ;  (7)  Lockhart,  selections 
from  the  "Life  of  Scott"  (about  200  pages) ;  (8)  Thackeray, 
lectures  on  Swift,  Addison,  and  Steele  in  the  "English 
Humorists";  (9)  Macaulay,  any  one  of  the  following  essays:  (a) 
Lord  Clive,  (h)  Warren  Hastings,  (c)  Milton,  (d)  Addison, 
(e)  Goldsmith,  (/)  Frederic  the  Great,  (g)  Madame  d'Arblay; 
(10)  Trevelyan,  selections  from  the  "Life  of  Macaulay"  (about 
200  pages) ;  (11)  Ruskin,  "Sesame  and  Lilies,"  or  selections 
from  his  writings  (about  150  pages) ;  (12)  Dana,  "Two  Years 
before  the  Mast";  (13)  Lincoln,  selections  from  his  addresses, 
including  at  least  the  two  Inaug-urals,  the  speeches  in  Independ- 
ence Hall  and  at  Gettysburg,  the  last  public  address,  the  letter 
to  Horace  Greeley ;  together  Avith  a  brief  memoir  or  estimate 
of  Lincoln;  (14)  Parkman,  "The  Oregon  Trail";  (15)  Thoreau, 
"Walden";  (16)  Lowell,  "Selected  Essays"  (about  150  pages); 
(17)  Holmes,  "The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table";  (18) 
Stevenson,  "An  Inland  Voyage"  and  "Travels  with  a  Donkey" ; 
(19)  Huxley,  "Autobiography"  and  selections  from  "Lay  Ser- 
mons," including  the  addresses  on  "Improving-  Natural  Knowl- 
edge," "A  Liberal  Education,"  and  "A  Piece  of  Chalk":  (20) 
Collection  of  Essays  by  Bacon,  Lamb,  DeQuincey,  Hazlitt, 
Emerson,  and  later  writers;  (21)  Collection  of  Letters  by 
various  standard  writers. 


210  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Group  V.  Poetry:  (1)  Palgrave's  "Golden  Treasury"  (First 
Series) :  Books  II  and  III,  with  special  attention  to  Dry  den, 
Collins,  Gray,  Cowper,  and  Burns;  (2)  Palgrave's  "Golden 
Treasury"  (First  Series),  Book  IV,  with  special  attention  to 
Wordsworth,  Keats,  and  Shelley  (if  not  chosen  for  study  under 
B) ;  (3)  Goldsmith:  "The  Traveler"  and  "The  Deserted  Village"; 
(4)  Pope:  "The  Rape  of  the  Lock";  (5)  A  collection  of  English 
and  Scottish  Ballads,  as,  for  example,  some  Robin  Hood  ballads, 
"The  Battle  of  Otterburn,"  "King  Estmere,"  "Young  Beichan," 
"Bewick  and  Grahame,"  "Sir  Patrick  Spens,"  and  a  selection 
from  later  ballads;  (6)  Coleridge,  "The  Ancient  Mariner," 
"Christabel,"  and  "Kubla  Khan";  (7)  Byron,  "Childe  Harold," 
Canto  III  or  IV,  and  "The  Prisoner  of  Chillon";  (8)  Scott, 
"The  Lady  of  the  Lake,"  or  "Marmion";  (9)  Macaulay,  "The 
Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,"  "The  Battle  of  Naseby,"  "The  Armada," 
"Ivry";  (10)  Tennyson,  "The  Princess,"  or  "Gareth  and 
Lynette,"  "Lancelot  and  Elaine,"  and  "The  Passing  of  Arthur" ; 
(11)  Browning,  "Cavalier  Tunes,"  "The  Lost  Leader,"  "How 
They  Brought  the  Good  Kews  from  Ghent  to  Aix,"  "Home 
Thoughts  from  Abroad,"  "Home  Thoughts  from  the  Sea," 
"Incident  of  the  French  Camp,"  "Herve  Riel,"  "Pheidippides," 
"My  Last  Duchess,"  "Up  at  a  Villa— Down  in  the  City,"  "The 
Italian  in  England,"  "The  Patriot,"  "The  Pied  Piper,"  "De 
Gustibus — "  "Instans  Tyrannus";  (12)  Arnold,  "Sohrab  and 
Rustum,"  and  "The  Forsaken  Merman";  (13)  Selections  from 
American  Poetry,  with  special  attention  to  Poe,  Lowell,  Long- 
fellow, and  Whittier. 

B.  For  Study 

The  foregoing  are  supplemented  by  the  following,  intended 
as  a  natural  and  logical  continuation  of  the  student's  earlier 
reading,  with  greater  stress  laid  upon  form  and  style,  the  exact 
meaning  of  words  and  phrases,  and  the  understanding  of 
allusions.  The  books  provided  are  arranged  in  four  groups, 
from  each   of  which  one  selection   is  to  be  made. 

Group  I.  Drama.  Shakespeare,  "Julius  Caesar,"  "Macbeth," 
"Hamlet." 

Group  II.  Poetry.  Milton,  "L' Allegro,"  "II  Penseroso,"  and 
either    "Comus"    or    "Lycidas";    Tennyson,    "The     Coming     of 


LITERATURE:    ITS    ELEMENTS  211 

Arthur,"  "The  Holy  Grail,"  and  "The  Passing  of  Arthur"; 
The  selections  from  Wordsworth,  Keats,  and  Shelley  in  Book 
IV.  of  Palgrave's  "Golden  Treasury"   (First  Series). 

Group  III.  Oratory.  Burke,  "Speech  on  Conciliation  with 
America";  Macaulay's  Two  "Speeches  on  Copyright,"  and  Lin- 
coln's "Speech  at  Cooper  Union";  Washington's  "Farewell 
Address,"  and  Webster's  "First  Bunker  Hill  Oration." 

Group  IV.  Essays.  Carlyle,  "Essay  on  Burns,"  with  a 
selection  from  Bums's  "Poems" ;  Macaulay,  "Life  of  Johnson" ; 
Emerson,  "Essay  on  Manners." 

The  pursuit  of  such  a  comprehensive  yet  varied  course 
of  reading,  intelligently  followed,  should  make  the  study  of 
literature  a  pleasure  rather  than  an  irksome  duty. 


VI 


The  Function  of  the  Dictionary 

Studying  the  dictionary  to  get  the  greatest  advantage 
out  of  it  with  the  least  expenditure  of  time  is  an  art  easily 
acquired.  Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  an  old  lady  who, 
having  read  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson's  dictionary  from  title 
page  to  colophon,  pronounced  it  a  very  interesting  book, 
but  lacking  in  continuity  and  connection.  She  epitomized 
the  character  of  dictionaries  in  general ;  still  she  was  doubt- 
less wiser  at  the  finish  than  at  the  start,  and  in  most  cases  a 
similar  course  of  reading  would  produce  a  like  result.  As 
an  editorial  writer  for  "The  Boston  Evening  Transcript"^ 
pointed  out  some  time  ago,  people  appropriate  their  vocabu- 
laries to  a  rather  undue  extent  from  the  speech  of  others  or 
from  desultory  reading.  This  is  a  rather  haphazard  way 
of  acquiring  the  proper  methods  or  terms  of  expression,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  formation  of  style.  It  is  dangerous 
unless  carefully  balanced  and  steadied  by  authority.  The 
dictionary  is  not  only  a  very  interesting  book,  but  next  to 
the  Bible  it  should  be  the  one  in  the  library  most  frequently 
consulted.  Like  the  Bible,  it  is  usually  the  one  that  receives 
the  least  attention.  In  these  days,  when  modern  teaching 
methods  turn  out  so  many  poor  spellers,  it  no  doubt  invites 
frequent  reference  for  the  correction  of  orthographical 
deficiencies,  but  that  is  only  one  and  the  slightest  of  its 
functions.     It  belittles  its  dignity  to  make  it  take  the  place 

*  "Boston  Evening  Transcript,"  December  27,  1911. 

212 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  213 

of  the  old  spelling-book.  Many  mines  of  learning  have  been 
explored  and  exploited  to  furnish  the  information  that  it 
has  to  give. 

The  director  of  an  oratorical  club  offered  a  prize  for  the 
finest  collection  of  words  beginning  with  the  same  letter  of 
the  alphabet,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the  attention  of 
those  whom  he  directed  to  the  treasures  of  the  dictionary, 
and  to  implant  or  reawaken  within  them  an  interest  in  that 
much-neglected  source  of  knowledge.  The  better  the  dic- 
tionary is  understood  the  clearer  will  be  the  interchange  of 
ideas  either  through  the  spoken  word  or  the  written  page. 
It  is  the  only  safe  guide  to  the  finer  shades  of  meaning. 
And  even  that  has  by  no  means  reached  its  limitations. 
Rich  as  the  language  is,  additions  to  it  are  being  made  con- 
stantly. Some  of  these  are  in  response  to  obvious  needs. 
Others  creep  in  through  mere  slovenliness.  Fifty  years 
ago  "humanitarian"  was  employed  simply  as  a  theological 
term  and  applied  rather  in  the  way  of  reproach  to  one  who 
denied  the  divinity  of  Christ.  Now  it  more  commonly 
describes  one  who  manifests  the  finer  and  more  altruistic 
traits  of  our  common  nature — in  fact  a  philanthropist. 

How  grudgingly  some  words  are  admitted  into  good 
verbal  society!  But  if  they  possess  inherent  usefulness 
they  will  in  good  time  win  their  way.  In  the  class  due  to 
slovenliness  is  ' '  replica. ' '  It  means  the  exact  reproduction 
by  an  artist  or  artizan  of  a  piece  of  work  which  he  has 
produced  before.  "When  preparations  were  making  for 
the  New  York  Tercentenary  a  great  deal  was  printed  about 
the  "replica  of  the  Half  Moon"  that  was  to  be  one  of  the 
features.  Even  were  he  the  "flying  Dutchman"  himself, 
the  designer  of  the  original  craft  could  hardly  have  been 
on  hand  to  duplicate  his  work.     But  some  writers  seemed 


214  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

to  like  the  word.  It  kept  creeping  into  the  dispatches.  It 
could  not  be  kept  out  and  it  has  been  traveling  ever  since, 
and  eventually  its  sense  must  be  modified  to  permit  of 
acceptance  by  the  lexicographers.  We  should  be  particu- 
larly wary  of  words  that  appeal  to  us  because  of  their  face 
value,  and  find  out  whether  they  are  likely  to  fit  into  our 
contemplated  verbal  structures  before  employing  them. 
The  word  that  should  have  been  used  to  describe  this  imi- 
tation of  the  ' '  Half  Moon  "  is  ' '  ectype ' ' — ugly  but  exact. 

The  vocabulary  of  the  average  man  has  often  been  the 
subject  of  speculation  and  estimate  but  seldom  has  a  system- 
atic attempt  to  determine  its  actual  strength  in  number 
of  words  been  made.  For  such  an  attempt  thanks  are  due 
to  the  Editor  of  the  "Indianapolis  Journal,"  who  made 
what,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  may  be  termed  a  practical 
study  of  the  subject.  He  was  led  to  do  this  by  the  publica- 
tion of  a  statement  that  an  ordinary  man  will  say  everything 
that  any  occasion  calls  for  with  a  vocabulary  of  1,000 
words.  Of  these  he  commonly  uses  but  400  or  500,  reserv- 
ing the  remainder  for  the  emergency  of  an  idea  out  of  his 
usual  line  of  thought. 

In  harmony  with  this  is  a  statement  once  made  by  a 
speaker  at  an  educational  meeting:  "The  best-educated 
person  in  this  room  will  not  use  more  than  600  or  700 
words."  And  he  added  that  an  ignorant  man  would  not 
use  more  than  300  or  400.  Some  years  ago  a  writer  in  the 
" Chautauquan "  said:  "It  is  estimated  that  an  English 
farm-hand  has  a  vocabulary  limited  to  300  words.  An 
American  workman  who  reads  the  newspapers  may  com- 
mand from  700  to  1,000  words.  Five  thousand  is  a  large 
number,  even  for  an  educated  reader  or  speaker."  This 
differs   considerably   from   the   statement   published   in   a 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  215 

recently  compiled  English  encyclopedia^  which  states  that 
"It  has  been  reckoned  that  the  agricultural  laborer  uses 
about  1,500  words,  but  this  is  probably  an  over-estimate. 
Intelligent  artizans  have  a  vocabulary  of  4,000  words,  while 
educated  persons  are  familiar  with,  if  they  do  not  use  8,000 
to  10,000  words. ' '  This  is  a  step  forward  all  along  the  line, 
but  it  is  a  long  distance  from  Dr.  Joseph  Jacobs '  discoveries. 
In  a  recent  review,^  Dr.  Jacobs  said  ''that  the  average  well- 
educated  American  or  Englishman  can  control  from  30,000 
to  35,000  words."  His  own  range,  and  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  he  commands  six  or  seven  languages,  he  in- 
adequately sets  somewhat  higher — 50,000  words — and  adds, 
"a  learned  jurist  of  my  acquaintance  would  appear  to  be 
fairly  familiar  with  55,000  words."  Figures  like  these 
leave  Milton's  vocabulary  of  13,000  words  or  9,000,  which- 
ever it  may  be,  and  Shakespeare's  24,000,  21,000  or  15,000 
words  (as  his  vocabulary  has  been  variously  computed*) 
far  in  the  shade,  and  yet  what  did  they  not  achieve  with 
words!  Dr.  Jacobs  thinks  that  a  professional  dealer  in 
words  may  be  able  to  recognize  at  first  sight  from  60,000  to 
70,000  words. 

But  given  an  individual  with  a  vocabulary  of  10,000 
primitive  words,  it  is  a  simple  matter  for  him  to  increase 
his  stock  of  words  fivefold  or  more  by  the  use  of  prefixes 
and  suffixes.  From  four  to  six  derivatives  may  be  formed 
by  the  use  of  these  from  nearly  every  primitive  word.  Take, 

*  "Everybody's  Cyclopedia,"  p.  339. 

'"New  York  Times,"  Saturday  Review  of  BooTcs,  November  16,   1913. 

*  Professor  Albert  Cook  in  his  "Study  of  English,"  says:  "Shakespeare,  it 
has  been  estimated,  employs  about  21,000  words  (others  say  15,000  or  24,000)  ; 
Milton,  in  his  verse,  about  13,000.  .  .  .  The  whole  English  Bible,  if  we  may 
trust  Marsh,  employs  about  6,000."  According  to  a  computation  made  by 
the  writer,  and  based  on  the  number  of  Hebrew  words  translated  into  English, 
there  are  in  the  Old  Testament  alone  8,674  words. 


216  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

for  example,  the  words  abolish,  accent,  accept,  and  access, 
and  note  the  number  of  their  derivatives. 

Abolish: — abolished;  abolishable;  abolisher;  abolishment; 
abolition;  abolitional;  abolitionary;  abolitiondom ;  abolitionism; 
abolitionist ;  abolitionize. 

Accent: — accentor;  accentrie;  accentual;  accentualist ;  accen- 
tually; accentuality;  accentuate;  accentuable;  accentuation; 
accentus. 

Accept: — acceptable;  acceptableness ;  acceptability;  accept- 
ably ;  acceptance ;  aeceptancy ;  acceptant ;  acceptation ;  accepted ; 
aeceptedly;  aeceptilate;  acceptilation ;  acception;  acceptive; 
acceptor;  acceptress. 

Access: — accessary;  accessarily;  aceessariness ;  accessar^'ship ; 
accessible;  accessibility;  accessibly;  accession;  accessional; 
accessit;  accessive;  accessively;  accessorial;  accessoriness ; 
accessorius;  accessory;  accessorily. 

Now  add  to  these  such  other  forms  as  may  be  made  by  the 
use  of  such  common  privatives  as  in-,  non-,  un-,  etc.  Apply- 
ing these  to  the  words  cited  above,  we  get  in  addition  the 
following : — 

In: — inacceptable ;  inaccessible;  inaccessibility;  inaccessible- 
ness;  inaccessibly. 

Non : — non-acceptance ;  non-access. 

Un: — unabolishable;  unabolished;  unaccented;  unaccentuated ; 
unacceptable;  unacceptableness ;  unacceptability ;  unacceptably ; 
unacceptant;  unaccepted;  unaccessible ;  unaccessibleness ;  un- 
accessibly. 

Thus  out  of  four  primitive  words  we  secure  a  total  of  74 
words.  If  these  four  words  could  be  accepted  as  character- 
istic of  the  language  and  the  same  plan  followed  with  the 
10,000  primitive  terms  already  referred  to,  the  total  would 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  217 

be  increased  to  740,000  words.  But  all  primitive  words  do 
not  have  the  same  percentages  of  derivatives. 

As  stated  above,  the  number  of  derivatives  ranges  from 
four  to  six,  therefore,  any  one  having  a  vocabulary  of 
10,000  primitive  words  at  command  may  be  said  to  control 
from  40,000  to  60,000  words  irrespective  of  proper  names. 
If  proper  names  be  added  to  either  of  these  totals  they 
might  be  increased  by  not  less  than  10,000  items  from 
Biblical,  bibliographical,  biographical,  geographical  and 
mythological  sources,  and  thus  yield  a  total  of  50,000  to 
70,000  terms.  From  the  foregoing  it  may  be  deduced  that 
**the  average  well-educated  American  or  Englishman" 
controls  almost  twice  as  many  words  as  Dr.  Jacobs  esti- 
mates. Judging  the  range  of  his  own  vocabulary  from  his 
literary  achievements,  the  writer  would  place  it  at  not  less 
than  100,000  words.  In  considering  the  class  which  Dr. 
Jacobs  aptly  characterizes  as  ''the  professional  dealers  in 
words"  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  many  of  these  have, 
at  one  time  or  another,  followed  other  vocations  than  that 
of  lexicographer.  Some,  for  example,  are  not  only  encyclo- 
pedists but  lawyers ;  others  have  followed  the  sciences,  and 
thereby  may  have  added  to  their  store  of  words  the  vast 
vocabularies  of  the  chemical,  medical,  or  surgical  pro- 
fessions, or  those  of  the  biologist  or  botanist,  of  the  elec- 
trician or  engineer,  and  so  on.  It  naturally  follows  that 
the  wider  the  range  of  study  or  reading  the  greater  the 
number  of  words  brought  under  control.  From  these 
premises  the  conclusion  of  the  writer  is  that  the  professional 
dealer  in  words  controls  from  100,000  to  200,000  words. 

To  revert  to  the  investigation  mentioned  above :  Any 
one  may,  with  a  little  trouble,  estimate  the  number  of  words 
whose  meanings  would  be  plain  to  him  in  print  or  in  speech. 


218  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  vocabulary  of  the  Editor  of  the  "Indianapolis  Jour- 
nal" was  estimated  by  the  aid  of  an  abridged  dictionary, 
because  almost  all  unusual  words  were  at  once  eliminated 
thereby. 

Under  each  letter  of  the  alphabet  a  page  or  more  of 
words  was  selected  at  random  and  counted.  A  separate 
record  was  kept  of  primitive  and  derivative  words.  That 
is,  among  the  former  was  put  ''measure";  among  the 
latter  ' ' measureable, "  " measureableness, "  "measurably," 
"measured,"  "measureless,"  "measurement,"  "meas- 
urer," "unmeasurable,"  and  "unmeasured."  Compound 
words  whose  meanings  were  clearly  indicated  by  their 
component  were  omitted;  as  "clock-work,"  "draft-horse," 
"hard-earned."  Counting  this  way,  an  average  of  twenty 
primitive  and  thirty-five  derivative  words  are  found  on 
each  page.  This  would  make,  there  being  814  pages  of 
vocabulary  in  the  dictionary,  a  total  of  16,210  of  the 
former  and  28,400  of  the  latter,  or  almost  45,000  in  all. 

Next  was  taken  a  page  in  each  letter,  and  on  it  were 
counted  the  words  which  it  seemed  any  person  of  average 
intelligence  would  be  able  to  use  and  understand.  On 
twenty-four  pages  there  were  268  primitive  words  and  221 
derivative,  or  nearly  9,000  in  all  of  the  former,  and  more 
than  7,000  of  the  latter.  And,  lastly,  was  made  a  count 
of  very  common  words,  such  as  even  a  poorly  educated 
person  could  hardly  escape  knowing,  and  they  were  found 
to  number  5,700  primitive  and  3,200  derivative.  No 
proper  names  were  included  in  any  of  the  countings. 

It  would,  therefore,  seem  to  follow,  if  what  we  are  told 
of  the  vocabularies  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton  be  correct, 
that  a  person  of  average  education  to-day  knows  at  least 
as  many  words  as  did  the  former,  and  one  whose  school 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  219 

opportunities  have  been  limited  is  capable  of  walking  beside 
the  latter  in  this  respect.  As  regards  ideas  and  ability  to 
express  them,  however,  the  difference  may  be  world-wide. 

The  foregoing  facts  seem  to  warrant  these  general  con- 
clusions: Every  well-read  person  of  fair  ability  and  edu- 
cation will  be  able  to  define  or  to  understand  as  used  nearly 
or  quite,  perhaps,  more  than,  50,000  words.  And  the  same 
person  in  conversation  and  writing  will  command  not  fewer 
than  15,000  to  20,000,  and  can  add  5,000  to  10,000  to  these 
numbers  if  he  be  literarily  inclined.  The  plain  people,  as 
Lincoln  liked  to  call  them,  use  or  read  understandingly 
from  8,000  to  10,000  words  according  to  their  general  in- 
telligence and  conversational  power,  while  a  person  who 
can  not  read,  but  who  has  a  good  degree  of  native  mental 
ability,  will  command  about  5,000, 

Professor  Emerson  tells  us  that  each  individual  has  a 
vocabulary  of  his  own,  differing  somewhat  from  that  of 
another  individual,  and  largely  from  that  of  the  whole  race. 
The  child  first  learns  only  a  few  of  the  words  belonging 
to  the  locality  in  which  he  lives.  As  he  grows  older  he 
gradually  acquires  others,  while  he  learns  to  use  some 
words  which  he  finds  in  books,  as  well  as  to  recognize  many 
which  he  does  not  actually  use.  Travel,  or  a  large  acquain- 
tance, adds  other  new  words  to  the  original  stock,  while  on 
the  other  hand,  some  words  used  in  childhood  and  youth 
are  discarded  and  finally  lost.  The  vocabulary  even  of  the 
individual  is,  therefore,  not  stable,  but  constantly  changing, 
constantly  suffering  growth  and  decay.  The  expression 
vocabulary  of  the  individual  has  two  distinct  senses,  as  it 
applies,  first,  to  the  words  he  actually  uses,  and  second,  to 
the  words  he  understands  when  used.^ 

'  "History  of  the  English   Languago,"  p.   114. 


220  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

How  then  shall  he  set  about  to  increase  this  vocabulary 
in  the  shortest  space  of  time  ?  Let  him  begin  by  cultivating 
what  may  be  termed  a  taste  for  the  dictionary,  and  let  him 
consult  the  book  as  frequently  as  he  comes  across  words 
whose  meanings  are  not  known  to  him.  There  is  nothing 
tame  or  prosy  about  this  labor.  When  a  new  word  or  an 
unfamiliar  word  is  found,  or  a  word  is  used  in  a  new  sense, 
it  should  be  run  down  to  its  source,  for  if  this  is  done  it 
will  leave  a  lasting  impression  on  the  mind.  Besides,  the 
examples  the  dictionary  gives  from  literature  to  illustrate 
the  meanings  of  words,  if  studied,  enable  one  to  see  the  force 
of  a  word  at  once  and  to  trace  its  history  from  remote  times 
to  the  present.  Of  all  the  tastes  which  may  be  cultivated, 
none  is  so  profitable  as  this  one.  The  great  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham acquired  it ;  Daniel  Webster,  the  prince  of  orators, 
formed  it ;  and  William  Pinckney,  the  giant  of  the  Ameri- 
can bar  of  his  day,  developed  it  by  studying  the  dictionary 
assiduously  page  after  page,  content  with  nothing  less 
than  the  complete  mastery  of  the  English  tongue.  The 
Earl  of  Chatham  read  Bailey's  folio  dictionary  through 
twice,  scrutinizing  each  word  carefully  so  as  to  bring  the 
whole  range  of  the  English  language  under  his  control. 
At  one  time  in  his  life  the  dictionary  was  read  aloud  to  him 
once  a  year ;  and  he  was  wont  to  complain  that  many  noble 
words  fell  from  time  to  time  out  of  use. 

Intelligent  reference  to  the  dictionary  teaches  not  only 
the  origin  and  the  spelling  of  words,  but  the  pronunciation, 
the  part  of  speech,  the  meanings,  and  the  fine  distinctions. 
Cicero  has  said, ' '  The  use  and  the  command  of  proper  words 
are  the  groundwork  of  correct  speech."  They  give  one  a 
thorough  command  of  the  language. 

There  was  a  time  when  dictionary  makers  and  printers 


THE   FUNCTION   OF   THE   DICTIONARY  221 

aimed  to  control  the  language  and  the  philosophy  of  its 
structure.  Of  these  men  the  late  Professor  George  P. 
Marsh  said :  ' '  They  suggest  wrong  etymologies  and  thereby 
give  a  new  shade  of  meaning  to  words,  and  exert  over 
speech  a  sway  no  less  absolute  or  no  more  conducive  to  the 
interests  of  good  taste  and  truth  in  language  than  that 
which  the  modiste  possesses  in  the  fashion  of  dress."  Of 
the  dictionaries  themselves,  he  added :  ' '  Those  selected  are 
often  works  of  no  real  philological  merit.  The  aim  of  their 
authors  has  been,  not  to  present  the  language  as  it  is,  as 
the  conjoined  influence  of  uncontrollable  circumstances  and 
learned  labor  has  made  it,  but  as,  according  to  their  crude 
notions,  it  ought  to  be. '  '^ 

''What,"  asked  Dr.  Phelps  in  1884,  "is  the  best  English 
dictionary  for  the  use  of  an  American  author  and  public 
speaker?  In  answer,  I  remark  first,  that,  in  respect  to 
purity  of  language,  no  dictionary  now  extant  can  be  ac- 
cepted as  good  authority.  Both  our  standard  lexicons,  Web- 
ster 's  and  Worcester 's,  are  helps ;  but  neither  is  a  conclusive 
authority.  Both  have,  in  their  later  editions,  been  con- 
structed on  principles  other  than  those  which  govern  a 
scholar's  vocabulary.  They  are  both  committed  to  the 
search  for  the  largest  number  of  words  in  use^" ;  not,  by  any 
means,  all  of  them  in  good  use.  Neither  the  scholarly 
editors,  nor  the  enterprising  publishers,  would  venture  to 
commend  all  the  words  in  either  as  pure  English ;  and  the 
distinctions  they  make  between  words  obsolete,  and  words 
vulgar,  and  words  rare,  can  not  always  be  depended  on. 
A  scholarly  writer  is  not  safe  in  using  every  word  which 

•  "Lectures  on  the  English  Language,"   p.    363. 

*•  The  vocabulary  strength  of  Webster's  Unabridged  American  Dictionary 
was  119,000  words,  as  aguin.st  117,000  words  recorded  by  Worcester.  Tho  In- 
ternational of  1890  contained  only  125,000  words;  but  the  New  International 
of  1909  registered  400,000 — an  increase  of  275,000  words  in  nineteen  years. 


222  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

these  dictionaries  do  not  condemn,  or  question  in  point  of 
purity.  "We  greatly  need  a  dictionary  the  equal  of  these 
in  other  respects,  and  at  the  same  time  a  perfect  standard 
of  pure  English."^ 

Great  strides  have  been  made  in  lexicography  since  then 
and  things  are  very  different  now. 

The  keynote  which  guides  the  new  school  of  lexicog- 
raphers that  has  arisen  since  then  was  struck  by  Dr.  Isaac 
Kauffman  Funk,  editor-in-chief  of  the  "Standard  Dic- 
tionary." In  the  preface  to  his  work  Dr.  Funk  laid  down 
the  principle  that  throughout  the  compilation  of  his  work 
it  was  borne  in  mind  that  the  chief  function  of  a  diction- 
ary is  to  record  usage,  not,  except  in  a  limited  degree,  to 
seek  to  create  it.  The  exception  was  rendered  necessary 
for  the  correction  of  the  misuse  of  words  very  prevalent 
in  some  quarters.  He  says:  "The  work  of  a  dictionary 
is  to  define  not  to  advocate.  It  is  to  give  accurate  defini- 
tions to  words,  and  thus  help  advocates  to  discuss  intelli- 
gently, using  with  precision  the  terms  employed.  Advocacy 
or  comment  was  a  common  fault  in  early  English  lexi- 
cography. John  Wesley  defined  in  his  dictionary :  'Metho- 
dist, one  that  lives  according  to  the  method  laid  down  in 
the  Bible, '  and  Johnson,  in  his  dictionary,  did  not  hesitate 
to  rap  the  Scotch  in  his  definition  of  oats,  nor  to  indulge 
in  such  pleasantry  as,  'Lexicographer:  "Writer  of  diction- 
aries :  a  harmless  drudge  that  busies  himself  in  tracing  the 
original,  and  detailing  the  signification  of  words. '  "  "  The 
work  of  the  lexicographer  nowadays,"  wrote  Dr.  Funk,  "is 
much  more  prosaic,  and  the  glasses  through  which  he  sees 
must  be  wholly  colorless."^ 

'  "English  Style  in  Public  Discourse,"  p.  26. 

*  "A  Standard  Dictionary  of  the   English   Language,"   Intro,  x-xi. 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  223 

Modesty  was  certainly  not  one  of  the  failings  of  the 
founder  of  Methodism  if  one  may  judge  from  the  title- 
page  of  the  dictionary  which  he  published  in  1753 — "The 
Complete  English  Dictionary,  explaining  most  of  those  hard 
words  which  are  found  in  the  best  English  writers.  By 
a  Lover  of  Good  English  and  Common  Sense.  N.  B. — 
The  Author  assures  you  he  thinks  this  is  the  hest  English 
Dictionary  in  the  world." 

National  development  causes  the  growth  of  language,  and 
as  we  advance  in  the  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  sciences 
we  require  new  words  to  describe  new  inventions,  new  dis- 
coveries. This  can  not  be  better  illustrated  than  by  citing 
the  terms  which  the  so-called  ''conquest  of  the  air"  has 
brought  into  being,  or  those  which  the  discovery  of  wireless 
telegraphy  has  brought  with  it.  Among  words  of  the 
former  class  are  such  as  "aeroplane,"  "aerodrome,"  "bi- 
plane," "glider,"  "helicopter,"  "monoplane,"  "or- 
thopter,"  and  "volplane";  and  in  the  latter,  "cohere," 
"decohere,"  "hysteresis,"  "marconigram,"  and  "radio- 
gram." The  development  of  new  powers,  the  manufacture 
of  firearms,  farming  implements,  appliances,  and  instru- 
ments ;  new  methods  of  manufacture  or  of  handling  raw 
materials ;  new  discoveries  in  chemistry,  medicine,  and  sur- 
gery— all  have  helped  to  enrich  our  language. 

The  profitable  study  of  the  dictionary  is  an  art  in  itself ; 
for  not  only  does  it  teach  spelling,  the  pronunciation,  the 
meaning,  and  the  etymology  of  words,  but  also  synonymy, 
which  is  the  systematic  study  of  synonyms,  "one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  intellectual  disciplines."^ 

No  language  can  compare  with  English  in  words  tluit 
are   the   approximate   or   the   precise   equivalents   of   one 

•  G.  P.  Marsh,  "Lectures  on  the  English  Language,"  xxvi.  pp.  507-508, 


224  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

another  in  meaning.  For  this  reason  it  is  best  to  make  a 
systematic  study  of  synonyms,  and  while  this  can  be  done 
more  or  less  laboriously  by  the  aid  of  the  dictionary,  it 
can  be  accomplished  more  systematically  and  more  speedily 
by  consulting  some  work  devoted  to  this  branch  of  philology. 
And  here,  a  word  or  two  of  advice  as  to  the  selection  of 
the  books  to  be  used  may  not  be  out  of  place.  There  are, 
among  other  books  devoted  to  this  subject,  the  works  of 
Whately,  Crabbe,  Roget,  Smith,  Fallows  and  Fernald. 
Archbishop  Whately 's  work,  as  it  contains  possibly  no 
more  than  five  hundred  words,  is  of  little  value  to-day. 
Crabbe 's  book,  while  excellent  in  many  respects  because  of 
the  examples  he  cites,  is  marred  by  defects  owing  to  the 
vsTiter's  want  of  knowledge  of  the  derivation  of  words. 
Roget 's  "Thesaurus"  has  long  proved  serviceable  to  men  of 
large  vocabularies  on  account  of  its  comprehensive  char- 
acter, its  system  of  classification,  and  its  ease  of  con- 
sultation. Fallows'  work  consists  of  little  else  than  bare 
lists  of  words,  and  is  now  out  of  date.  Fernald 's  "Syn- 
onyms, Antonyms,  and  Prepositions,"  is  a  work  of  a  totally 
different  kind.  The  method  followed,  not  altogether  unlike 
that  originated  by  Crabbe,  has  been  to  select  from  every 
group  of  synonyms  one  word,  or  two  contrasted  words,  the 
meaning  of  which  can  be  settled  by  clear,  definitive  state- 
ment, thus  securing  some  fixed  point  or  points  to  which 
all  the  other  words  of  the  group  may  be  referred.  The 
great  source  of  vagueness,  error,  and  perplexity  in  many 
discussions  of  synonyms  is,  that  the  writer  merely  asso- 
ciates stray  ideas  loosely  connected  with  the  different 
words,  sliding  from  synonym  to  synonym  with  no  definite 
point  of  departure  or  return,  so  that  a  smooth  and,  at  first 
sight,  pleasing  statement  really  gives  the  mind  no  definite 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  225 

resting-place  and  no  sure  conclusion.  A  true  discussion 
of  synonyms  is  definition  by  comparison,  and  for  this  there 
must  be  something  definite  with  which  to  compare.  When 
the  standard  is  settled,  approximation  or  differentiation  can 
be  determined  with  certainty  and  clearness.  It  is  not 
enough  to  tell  something  about  each  word.  The  thing  to 
tell  is  how  each  word  is  related  to  others  of  that  particular 
group. 

The  book  contains  also  more  than  3,700  antonyms.  These 
are  valuable  as  supplying  definition  by  contrast  or  by 
negation,  one  of  the  most  effective  methods  of  defining 
being  in  many  cases  to  tell  what  a  thing  is  not.  To  speakers 
and  writers  antonyms  are  useful  as  furnishing  effective 
antitheses. 

Much  valuable  help  is  afforded  by  the  indication  of  the 
correct  use  of  prepositions,  the  misuse  of  which  is  one  of 
the  common  errors  and  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  avoid, 
while  their  right  use  gives  to  style  cohesion,  firmness  and 
compactness  and  is  an  important  aid  to  perspicuity.^" 

We  live  in  an  age  of  specialization.  Before  the  publi- 
cation of  Dr.  Funk's  dictionary  the  lexicons  in  use  were 
modeled  upon  old  and  irrational  lines.  Compiled  as  they 
were  by  a  handful  of  scholars,  it  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  knowledge  of  these  few  men  could  cover  such  a 
vast  area  of  research  and  exact  knowledge  as  was  demanded 
in  the  production  of  authoritative  works  of  reference. 
With  the  advance  of  knowledge  came  the  era  of  special- 
ization. Men  who  had  devoted  their  lives  to  special  lines 
of  activity,  were  selected  as  best  qualified  to  speak  on  their 
particular  specialty.  To  make  his  dictionary  authoritative 
and  indisputably  exact  Dr.  Funk  referred  all  questions  that 

^J.  C.  Fernald,  idem.  pp.  viii-x. 


226  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

arose  for  answer  to  the  men  best  qualified  to  reply  to  them. 
Hence,  he  produced  a  work  that  an  English  critical  review 
declared  ' '  challenges  criticism  and  commands  admiration. ' ' 
He  blazed  a  path  through  the  intricacies  of  lexicography 
that  his  competitors  have  been  quick  to  follow.  But  how 
much  more  one  may  learn  from  the  dictionary  has  yet  to 
be  told,  and  as  this  has  been  most  effectively  done  by  De 
Amicis,  his  views  are  given  below. 

Edmondo  de  Amicis,  born  at  Oneglia  in  1846;  Italian 
soldier,  patriot,  publicist  and  litterateur— the  friend  of 
Theophile  Gautier — won  more  renown  with  the  pen  than 
he  did  with  the  sword.  As  a  writer  he  was  prolific.  His 
knowledge  of  his  native  tongue  made  him  master  of  ex- 
pression. Before  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Bordighera 
in  1908,  he  told  the  world  how  he  obtained  the  extraordinary 
command  of  language  that  characterizes  all  his  work. 
Baudelaire  once  asked  Gautier  how  he  had  learned  to  write 
as  he  did.  Gautier  replied:  "I  studied  the  dictionary." 
He  read  the  dictionary  constantly,  he  said,  and  always 
with  renewed  pleasure.  When  the  meaning  of  these  words 
came  home  to  De  Amicis  it  seemed  to  him  that  a  mist  had 
risen  from  before  him  and  had  revealed  to  him  the  straight 
road  to  the  correct  understanding  of  his  mother  tongue, 
"I  saw,"  said  he,  ''in  a  flash  that  it  was  not  merely 
necessary  but  that  it  was  actually  a  duty,  a  matter  of  con- 
science for  every  writer,  for  every  patriotic  citizen,  to 
study  the  dictionary  of  his  native  tongue;  to  read  from 
start  to  finish  ;  to  annotate  it,  and  to  draw  from  it  constantly 
the  gems  to  be  found  on  every  page,  and  so  by  force  of 
habit  assimilate  little  by  little  the  learning  it  contains. 
When  this  dawned  upon  me  a  feeling  of  shame  that  I  had 
not  found  it  out  before  overcame  me.     Shaking  my  finger 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  227 

at  the  ink-well,  I  exclaimed  in  apostrophe :  '  Blush  for  your 
ignorance.'  Then  I  started  to  enumerate  the  various 
reasons  for  blushing:  (1)  No  one  could  with  reason  sup- 
pose he  had  studied  his  mother  tongue  unless  he  had  made 
use  of  the  simplest,  quickest  and  surest  way  to  learn,  if 
not  all,  almost  all  its  elements.  (2)  That  this  way  was 
none  other  than  through  using  the  dictionary,  the  only 
book  which  contains  all  the  riches  of  our  language  and,  as 
it  were,  accept  its  contents  entirely  with  a  confidence  on 
which  the  intellect  can  rely  and  from  which  it  may  proceed 
with  greater  daring  to  the  study  of  books.  To  study  a 
language  through  books  alone,  or  only  by  word  of  mouth, 
is  to  study  it  in  a  haphazard  way ;  for  books  contain  only  a 
part  of  it,  and  the  people  can  not  speak  it  all,  not  to 
mention  the  impossibility  of  grasping  all  if  all  could  be 
spoken.  Of  this  we  have  proof  in  the  fact  that  no  one  ever 
turned  over  even  a  few  pages  of  the  dictionary  without 
finding  a  good  number  of  words  that  may  be  applied  to 
certain  things  or  facts  of  which  he  had  no  knowledge,  or  if 
he  had  it  has  forgotten,  and  for  which  he  substituted  com- 
parisons, definitions,  or  circumlocutions.  Failure  to  study 
the  dictionary  has  created  an  infinity  of  words  which  are 
now  seldom  used  or  written  by  any  one,  anywhere ;  for  one 
can  never  know  how  to  use  them  when  occasion  requires, 
unless  one  spends  hours  in  what  often  proves  to  be  futile, 
weary  search.  In  a  written  language,  and  even  in  one 
spoken  by  cultured  people,  there  is  mu^h  less  variety  than 
there  might  be,  simply  because  they  do  not  study  the  dic- 
tionary. Everyone  of  a  certain  age  provides  himself  with 
a  vocabulary  which  suffices  to  express  all  that  he  ordinarily 
desires  to  say;  to  this  he  seldom  adds  except  on  some 
extraordinary  occasion.     Now,  by  reading  the  dictionary 


228  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

daily  one  might  add  to  one's  stock,  and  thus  daily  say 
something  more  and  thereby  enrich  our  common  tongue, 
both  written  and  spoken.  I  considered  many  other  reasons 
but  never  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  had  hitherto  been 
cheated  into  considering  the  dictionary  merely  as  a  book 
made  to  answer  questions  when  it  was  interrogated;  that 
it  was  a  book  to  be  read  continually  like  a  history,  an  essay, 
or  a  novel ;  to  be  kept  on  the  table  by  the  bedside ;  and  to 
be  carried  in  parts  even  on  country  rambles.  Beginning 
at  A,  I  started  to  read,  and  did  so  with  increasing  zest.  In 
a  few  days  I  had  devoured  several  hundred  pages  and  so 
covered  their  margins  with  notes  that  these  were  hidden 
from  sight.  What  else  would  you  have?  The  pleasure 
which  I  derived  was  so  great  that  I  could  not  resist  my 
inclination  to  give  it  expression  and,  pausing  in  my  read- 
ing, I  wrote  the  following  lines : 

*  *  *  Imagine  a  vast  building  in  which  all  the  articles  that 
could  be  seen  at  a  hundred  expositions  are  collected  to- 
gether and  massed  in  inextricable  confusion.  To  walk 
through  such  a  place  must  cause  a  similar  delight  to  that 
which  I  experienced  by  reading  the  dictionary.  We  pass 
from  city  to  country,  from  sea  to  shore,  from  earth  to  sky, 
from  the  heavens  to  the  bowels  of  the  earth  with  the 
rapidity  of  thought.  Side  by  side  with  an  article  of  fur- 
niture we  have  a  medieval  weapon;  beside  the  weapon  a 
rare  fish ;  then  an  Asiatic  plant ;  then  a  bit  of  ingenious 
mechanism,  a  precious  stone,  a  flower,  a  building,  a  textile 
fabric.  We  meet  with  instruments,  customs  of  every  kind, 
representatives  of  every  science,  costumes  of  every  nation, 
of  all  ages,  images  of  every  form  of  religious  worship.  We 
are  continually  accompanied  by  a  mingled  sound  of  poems, 
proverbs,  popular  concerts,  expressions  of  amazement,  in- 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  229 

suits,  compliments,  jeers,  and  salutations.  "We  come  into 
contact  with  a  multitude  of  words  which  seem  like  masks 
of  men,  scholars,  dandies,  spectacled  professors ;  antiquated 
words,  snuffy  archeologists,  snarling  at  modern  men  and 
times;  modern  words,  fresh,  bold,  like  boys  just  launched 
into  the  world  with  letters  of  recommendation  from  some 
well-accredited  author;  common  words,  public  men  with  a 
long  train  of  clients;  sinister  words,  questionable  char- 
acters; bombastic  words,  the  braggarts  of  a  popular  as- 
sembly ;  effeminate  words,  affected  nobles  of  recent  creation ; 
indecent  words,  shameless  women  with  a  brand  upon  their 
brow;  foreign  words,  travelers  who  have  lost  their  way; 
diminutives,  troops  of  tiny  children  in  long  rows  with 
their  mothers  at  the  head.  Some  of  these  we  pass  without 
a  glance,  as  members  of  our  own  household;  to  others  we 
bow  hastily  and  indifferently;  toward  some  we  hasten  as 
forgotten  friends  suddenly  sprung  to  life  again;  before 
others  yet  we  pause  a  moment  to  recall  their  faces  to  our 
memory;  one  shows  us  a  mistake  we  have  made,  another 
gives  us  friendly  advice ;  this  one  treats  a  historic  fact,  that 
one  explains  a  popular  tradition ;  and  we  meditate,  laugh, 
dream  and  learn  language,  history,  morals,  poetry,  science, 
sports  and  trades,  until  we  close  the  book  bewildered,  as  if 
leaving  a  building  in  which  we  had  found  at  once  a  theater, 
a  college  and  a  market.  What  more  can  be  found  in  any 
book?  How  can  anyone  deny  that  this  is  a  magic  book? 
And  who  can  ever  say  that  he  has  had  enough  of  it?' 

"Paolo  Mantegazza  fails  to  name  the  dictionary  in  his 
'Physiology  of  Pleasure,'  and  it  is  an  omission  not  easily 
pardoned.  I  remember  a  professor  of  mathematics,  ar- 
dently devoted  to  his  science,  who,  having  taken  the  table 
of  logarithms  into  the  classroom  for  the  first  time,  pored 


230  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

over  his  book  until  his  chin  rested  on  its  covers,  and,  waving 
his  arms  exclaimed  with  much  content:  'How  sweet  to 
drift  upon  this  tide!'  And  so  it  is  sweet  to  drift  in  the 
dictionary.  We  float  down  the  columns,  as  if  borne  by 
the  current  of  a  mighty  stream,  and  the  words  are  villages, 
plants,  and  people  scattered  along  the  shore.  Here  we  oifer 
no  resistance,  but  glide  on  placidly,  thinking  of  a  thousand 
things.  .  .  .  The  dictionary  is  a  fantastical  book.  Some 
persons  say  that  to  read  the  'Arabian  Nights'  is  to  unfold 
a  whirl  of  dazzling  mental  images  which  cause  a  sort  of 
inebriation  which  is  followed  by  entrancing  dreams.  Fifty 
pages  of  the  dictionary  produce  a  denser,  more  varied, 
more  dazzling  host  of  images  in  my  brain  than  fifty  pages 
of  the  'Arabian  Nights.'  I  close  the  book,  close  my  eyes 
and  see  a  myriad  of  dissimilar  things  about  me,  which 
moving  as  in  a  circle  chase  one  another,  appearing  and  dis- 
appearing like  a  host  of  butterflies,  and  producing  a 
pleasant  mental  agitation,  which  follows  me  even  in  my 
sleep.     The  dictionary  excites  my  senses. 

"Putting  the  pleasure  aside  and  looking  at  the  matter 
in  a  somewhat  pedantic  way,  how  much  this  invaluable  book 
teaches  in  its  familiar  words  and  with  its  homely  kind- 
ness! "With  its  clear,  simple,  calm  definitions  and  speci- 
fication of  things,  it  enables  us  to  form  our  ideas  and  to 
express  them  clearly ;  so  that,  if  after  reading  it  for  an  hour, 
we  sit  down  to  write,  we  feel  as  if  our  thoughts  and  our 
way  of  giving  expression  to  them  could  never  be  sufficiently 
direct  and  clear ;  so  we  no  longer  are  satisfied  with  the  first 
form,  and  end  by  improving  it.  By  constantly  studying 
its  minute  definitions  of  the  vast  number  of  things  which 
we  usually  indicate  by  adding  gestures  to  words,  we 
accustom  ourselves  to  exactness  of  description,  to  the  use 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    THE    DICTIONARY  231 

of  the  correct  word.  The  dictionary  excites  our  curiosity 
at  every  step.  As  we  read,  we  wish  we  had  at  hand  now 
a  botanist,  now  a  mechanic,  now  an  archeologist,  now  a 
historian  whom  we  may  beset  with  questions.  But  they 
are  not  available  so  we  can  not  satisfy  our  curiosity;  our 
questions  remain  unanswered,  we  bide  our  time.  Then, 
again,  the  dictionary  kindles  many  a  spark  in  our  brain,  for 
word  and  thought  are  twins  of  the  mind.  Gautier  said 
that  some  words  were  like  diamonds,  others  like  rubies,  and 
others  like  sapphires,  and  they  only  needed  proper  setting. 
We  may  claim  more:  there  are  words  which  inspire  us  to 
great  deeds ;  words  that  awaken  a  thousand  thoughts  which 
have  been  slumbering  in  the  innermost  cells  of  our  brain, 
and  words  that  recall  to  mind  some  long-forgotten  book. 
Finally  the  reading  of  a  dictionary  teaches  us  modesty,  for 
no  matter  how  well-educated  we  may  be  we  can  find  in 
every  column  some  word  which  leads  us  to  exclaim:  'I 
didn't  know  that!'  and  we  realize  the  limitations  of  our 
knowledge.  Many  of  us  should  read  it  if  only  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  snail  and  draw  in  our  horns." 

De  Amicis  considers  the  dictionary  as  the  most  truly 
"national"  book.  It  is,  he  says,  an  agreeable  useful  and 
moral  companion  to  which  all  ages  and  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men  have  contributed — scholars,  clowns  who  did 
not  know  a  single  letter  of  the  alphabet,  and  children  even. 
It  quotes  a  verse  from  every  poet,  and  contains  a  sentence 
from  every  writer  of  prose.  Great  events  have  left  their 
traces  on  its  pages ;  it  is  the  history  of  our  language  and 
its  battlefields,  for  here  is  arrayed  a  victorious  army  of 
vigorous,  living  words;  there  lie  the  dead  and  dying — the 
obsolete  and  the  obsolescent  words,  the  last  like  so  many 
cripples  or  wounded  are  hobbling  to  the  rear,  and  there 


232  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

again,  is  a  foreign  legion — ^words  that  like  soldiers  of  for- 
tune have  strayed  from  their  native  land  to  lend  us  a 
hand  and  enable  us  to  express  ourselves  the  more  clearly 
thereby.  Then,  like  De  Amicis,  let  us  hail  the  dictionary 
"Master,  friend,  all-wise  counselor  that  answerest  all 
questions;  faithful  companion  of  the  student,  dear  and 
glorious  teacher,  we  acknowledge  thee ! ' ' 

After  this  should  one  wonder  at  Daniel  Webster's  laconic 
reply  to  a  lately  elected  member  of  the  United  States 
Senate  who  inquired  of  him  what  he  would  need  in  "Wash- 
ington— "Dictionaries,  sir.  Dictionaries!"  Then,  let  us 
study  the  dictionary  column  by  column,  page  by  page, 
until  we  have  increased  our  store  of  knowledge  and  acquired 
an  adequate  vocabulary  of  words  to  serve  the  purpose  of  ex- 
pressing our  thoughts. 


VII 


The  Dictionary  as  a  Text-Book 

Although  the  United  States  is  the  home  of  the  English 
dictionary,  inasmuch  as  more  dictionaries  are  made,  sold, 
and  used  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  than  anywhere  else 
in  the  English-speaking  world,  it  is  curious  that  there  exists 
but  a  very  limited  knowledge  of  how  to  draw  from  its  pages 
the  jewels  of  speech  which  be-gem  our  language.  The 
average  man,  woman,  or  child,  who  consults  the  pages  of 
a  dictionary  does  so  in  a  superficial  sort  of  way.  It  may 
be  that  a  discussion  has  arisen  upon  the  correct  way  to 
spell  or  to  pronounce  a  word;  if  so,  the  appeal  is  to  the 
dictionary  to  settle  the  argument.  Again,  perhaps,  but 
this  rarely,  it  is  a  matter  of  what  does  the  word  mean  or 
whence  came  it?  Once  more  the  dictionary  is  appealed 
to  as  the  court  of  last  resort,  and  in  this  respect,  it  may  be 
said,  the  people  of  America  fortunately  differ  from  their 
friends  across  the  water. 

In  America  the  supreme  court  of  language  is  the  dic- 
tionary. The  people  bow  down  to  it  and  therefore  obtain 
from  it  much  more  reliable  information  than  the  average 
educated  Englishman,  who  seldom  or  never  consults  it. 
It  is  commonly  known  that  in  the  spelling,  pronunciation, 
meaning,  and  derivation  of  words  in  England  the  native  is 
a  law  unto  himself.  Sometimes  one  meets  the  type  who 
spells  this  way  or  pronounces  that  way  because  his  father 

2.33 


234  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

and  his  grandfather  did  the  same  thing  before  him.  But 
more  often  one  meets  the  man,  and  woman  too,  I  regret  to 
say,  who  pronounces  according  to  the  vogue,  and  insists 
that  he  or  she  is  correct.  Alas !  for  them,  the  positivists  are 
invariably  wrong.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  they 
have  no  actual  knowledge  of  orthoepy,  and  although  they 
may  have  some  rudiments  of  orthography  they  would  con- 
demn the  more  inoffensive  simple  speller  to  the  gallows 
(if  they  had  their  way)  for  daring  to  spell  ** check"  without 
the  '  *  q, "  and  ' '  labour ' '  without  the  ' '  u. "  They  would  hesi- 
tate to  enter  a  theater  because  they  are  accustomed  to  the 
-re  and  would  run  out  at  once  if  they  found  that  the  final 
-me  was  dropped  from  their  program.  Yet  this  very  class 
of  educated  person  will  talk  of  my  den  lyne,  where  the  sound 
required  is  that  of  the  word  that  designates  the  national 
beverage — "a"  as  in  **ale" — and  talk  of  "goin'  huntin,'  or 
shootin',''  because  some  ill-bred  persons  set  afoot  a  society 
for  the  mispronunciation  of  English  words.  That  we,  too, 
sin  in  the  same  direction,  notwithstanding  our  wealth  of 
dictionaries,  is  in  evidence  in  some  quarters,  as  is  shown  by 
the  corruption  of  our  Anglo-Saxon^  yes  to  **y6p,"  "yer," 
and  "yah,"  as  if  the  original  corruption,  or  refinement, 
were  not  enough.  There  are  also  pazzaza  for  piazza;  eats 
used  for  food;  complected  for  complectioned,  and  hundreds 
of  other  erroneous,  and  many  other  corrupted  forms  of 
words  which  are  known  to  be  incorrect,  yet  are  fostered  by 
certain  classes  notwithstanding  the  opposition  offered  to 
them  by  people  of  culture. 

With  the  publication  of  the  "New  Standard  Dictionary" 
in  America,  and  the  approaching  completion  of  the  New 
English  Dictionary  by  Sir  James  Murray  and  his  asso- 

^  Gese,  gi*e,  or  gyse,  from  gea,  "yea,"  and  awa,  "so." 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  235 

ciates  in  England,  let  us  hope  that  public  attention  will  be 
directed  once  again  to  a  subject  which,  although  closer  to 
the  English-speaking  races  than  to  any  other,  is  still  per- 
sistently neglected  by  them.  To  preserve  it  in  its  native 
glory  requires  watchful  care,  for  its  correct  use  is  the 
ineffaceable  cachet  to  culture  in  social  circles  throughout 
the  English-speaking  world. 

If  it  be  possible  to  do  so,  my  purpose  is  to  get  the  public 
to  look  upon  the  dictionary  as  the  beacon-light  of  knowledge 
to  all  men.  It  is  not  merely  a  word-book  to  be  consulted 
fitfully,  or,  because  of  its  bulk,  to  be  used  as  a  substitute  for 
the  worn-out  screw  of  a  piano-stool ;  it  is  the  national  key 
to  human  knowledge.  With  the  dictionary  as  one's  only 
text-book  it  is  possible  to  impart  an  education  that  no  set 
of  text-books,  be  they  even  fifty  in  number,  can  impart. 
Therefore,  it  behooves  all  who  are  concerned  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young  to  place  this  book  on  the  same  plane  as 
the  churchmen  of  old  placed  the  English  Bible.  The  dic- 
tionary should  be  placed  on  a  lectern  in  every  school 
throughout  the  land,  and  the  teachers  should  be  required 
to  instruct  their  pupils  in  the  art  of  how  to  use  it  intelli- 
gently. 

The  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  to  point  to  the  benefits  that 
can  be  derived  from  consulting  the  dictionary ;  how  by  con- 
scientious application  the  teacher  and  student  may  both 
profit  materially  through  studying  its  pages.  To  demon- 
strate the  practical  character  of  the  study  proposed  can  not 
be  done  better  than  by  stating  a  case. 

Take,  for  example,  the  study  of  English  as  a  language  in 
ia  public  school.  How  shall  the  teacher  proceed?  First, 
by  directing  the  pupil  called  up  to  turn  to  the  word  ''Eng- 
lish" in  the  dictionary  used  by  the  class.     (Here  it  should 


236  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

be  stated,  that  only  an  unabridged  dictionary^  should  be 
used  on  the  floor  of  the  classroom.)  The  pupil  proceeds 
to  read  the  definition  slowly  while  his  classmates  copy  down 
the  statement  which  he  reads.  English  is  the  language  of 
England,  or  of  the  English  peoples,  wherever  spoken.  In 
this  sense  there  are  four  periods  of  the  history  of  the  Eng- 
lish language:  (a)  The  period  from  the  earliest  Teutonic 
speech  in  England,  a.d.  450  to  a.d.  1150,  the  Anglo-Saxon 
period,  lately  often  called  Old  English,  Oldest  English. 
This  was  the  period  of  full  inflection,  (b)  The  period 
from  A.D.  1150  to  a.d.  1350,  called  Early  English,  during 
which  the  inflections  were  broken  up  (1150-1250),  and 
large  numbers  of  French  words  were  introduced  into  the 
language  (1250-1350).  (c)  The  period  from  1350  to  1550, 
the  Chaucer  period,  the  Old  English  of  literature,  now 
often  called  Middle  English,  in  which  the  Saxon  and  Nor- 
man elements  were  shaped  into  a  new  literary  language. 
(d)  The  period  since  1550,  called  Modern  English.  It  con- 
sists of  the  cultivated  mixed  speech  of  the  English  since 
the  beginning  of  the  Chaucer  period,  a.d.  1350. 

Now,  the  entire  class  has  before  it  a  concrete  statement  of 
what  ' '  English, ' '  as  far  as  it  pertains  to  language,  actually 
is.  Having  proceeded  so  far,  the  next  word  requiring 
consideration  is  "language."  You,  gentle  reader,  Tom 
Brown,  Jack  Smith,  or  Ben  Tibbs,  all  have  a  general  idea 
of  what  language  is,  of  course ;  but  can  you  express  that 
idea  concisely,  yet  comprehensively  enough,  for  it  to  pass 
muster  as  your  contribution  to  a  Civil  Service  examination  ? 
If  you  can,  then,  you  advance  one  step  forward  in  the 
course  of  this  explanation ;  if  not,  then  you  are  required 
to  step  to  the  lectern  and  read  to  the  class  what  the  word 

"  The  work  used  in  the  exposition  that  follows  is  the  "Standard  Dictionary." 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  237 

"language"  means  and  enibrajcjes,  when  it  is  used  to  desig- 
nate written  or  spoken  words. 

A  language  consists  of  all  the  uttered  sounds,  and  their 
combinations  inta  words  and  sentences,  that  human  beings 
employ  for  the  communication  of  ideas,  together  with  their 
written  or  printed  representations;  the  expression  of  ideas 
by  human  words.  Its  elements  are  (1)  nouns  or  naming 
words,  also  called  substantives;  (2)  pronouns,  which  are 
used  to  denote  persons -or  things  instead  of  nouns;  (3)  ad- 
jectives (words  attributing  or  predicating),  sometimes 
called  nouns  adjective;  (4)  verbs  (words  asserting  action  or 
being)  ;  and  (5)  particles  (words  more  closely  defining 
and  giving  the  references  of  general  relation;  called  ad- 
verbs when  more  nearly  defining  and  making  particular  a 
quality  or  relation ;  prepositions  when  showing  the  relations 
of  objects;  conjunctions  when  connecting  words,  phrases 
or  statements).  These  are  combined  into  (1)  phrases, 
(2)  clauses,  and  (3)'  sentences,  simple,  compound,  and  com- 
plex. To  get  a  clear  idea  of  this  one  must  examine  all  the 
italicized  w^ords.  Language  embraces  the  words  and  com- 
binations of  words  forming  the  means  of  commimication 
among  the  members  of  a  single  community,  nation,  or 
people.  Philologists  recognize  groups  of  related  languages  or 
language-stocks,  the  most  important  of  which  (genetically 
classified)  are  the  Aryan,  or  Indo-European,  the  Semitic, 
the  Ural-Altaic,  Scythian,  or  Turanian,  the  Monosyllabic 
or  southeastern  Asian,  and  the  Hamitic,  the  first  written. 
IMore  than  1,000  languages  are  spoken  on  the  globe — so 
different  that  each  is  unintelligible  to  the  speakers  of  any 
other.  Speeches  less  remote,  but  still  called  different,  are 
counted  by  thousands.  The  philological  characteristics  of 
these  groups  (morphologically  classified  or  considered)  are 


238  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

highly  inflected  structure  for  the  Aryan  and  Semitic, 
monosyllabic  structure  for  the  Chinese,  or  southeastern 
Asian,  and  partly  monosyllabic  structure  for  the  Hamitic 
(Egyptian).  The  Basque  and  the  American  languages  are 
highly  poly  synthetic  or  agglutinative. 

To  what  family  or  group  does  your  native  speech  belong? 
You  do  not  know?  Then,  look  it  up  in  your  dictionary. 
From  it  you  learn  that  English  is  a  language  belonging  to 
the  "West  Teutonic  branch  of  the  Teutonic  subfamily  in  the 
Indo-European  division  of  the  languages  of  the  world, 
and  that  certain  existing  forms,  as  the  Irish,  Manx,  Cor- 
nish, etc.,  belong  to  the  Celtic  subfamily. 

Philology  is  the  study  of  language  in  connection  with 
history  and  literature;  specifically,  classical  learning:  in 
this,  the  older  sense,  commonly  called  philology  or  classical 
philology.  It  is  sometimes  called  also  literary  philology. 
It  embraces  the  scientific  investigation  of  the  laws  and 
principles  that  obtain  in  a  language  or  a  group  of  lan- 
guages, and  in  this  sense  is  usually  called  comparative  phil- 
ology, as  involving  the  comparison  of  languages  with  each 
other. 

Comparative  philology  is  in  familiar  use  in  England, 
to  denote  linguistic  philology,  or  linguistics,  as  opposed  to 
literary  philology;  but  continental  usage  (especially  Ger- 
man), restricting  philology  to  literary  philology,  favors  a 
specific  term,  like  linguistics,  linguistic  science,  science  of 
language,  glossology,  etc.,  for  the  linguistic.  Philology  in- 
cludes the  study  of  language  as  the  word  or  as  speech  in 
order  to  ascertain  its  elements  and  laws. 

But  to  continue.  What  is  a  word?  A  word  is  a  vocal 
sound  or  combination  of  vocal  sounds,  used  as  a  symbol  to 
embody  and  signify  an  idea  or  thought,  especially  a  notion 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  239 

or  conception,  and  forming  one  of  the  elements  of  language ; 
a  single  independent  utterance,  forming  usually  a  con- 
stituent unit  of  a  sentence. 

A  vocal  sound  that  is  a  mere  reflex  of  sensation  is  not 
usually  regarded  as  a  word;  but  a  vocal  sound  of  reflex 
origin  may  become  by  general  use  significant  of  an  idea, 
and  therefore  as  truly  a  word  as  any  utterance  belonging 
to  language ;  such  a  word  is  oh.  A  word  may  be  a  single 
elementary  sound  symbolized  by  one  letter,  as  the  English 
indefinite  article,  or  a  combination'  of  many  sounds;  it 
may  express  a  simple  or  a  complex  idea;  it  may  be  any 
part  of  speech ;  it  may  be  an  elementary  word,  as  eat,  or  a 
complicated  derivative,  as  uneatdbleness.  In  human  lan- 
guage all  words,  except  proper  names  and  certain  ex- 
clamations, are  signs  of  generalized  ideas,  called  notions. 
Even  particles  that  now  seem  almost  unmeaning  and  un- 
necessary, originally  expressed  some  verbal,  substantive,  or 
other  idea. 

A  word  is,  also,  the  letter,  or  combination  of  written  or 
printed  letters  or  characters,  that  stands  for  a  significant 
vocal  sound  or  sounds.  Words  are  made  up  of  letters ;  the 
letters  are,  invariably,  grouped  to  form  an  alphabet.  At 
least,  so  it  is  in  English.  Let  us  therefore  turn  to  alphabet 
and  see  what  we  can  learn  there. 

We  learn  that  an  alphabet  is  a  series  of  symbols  indi- 
cating sound,  and  that  in  philology  it  consists  of  the  letters 
that  constitute  collectively  the  elements  of  written  lan- 
guage, arranged  in  an  order  fixed  by  usage,  as  a,  h,  c,  d, 
etc. ;  as,  the  English  alphabet.  The  alphabets  of  different 
nations  vary  in  number  of  letters.  The  Arabic  alphabet 
has  28  letters,  Armenian  38,  Coptic  32,  Dutch  26,  English 
26,  French  25,  Georgian  39,  German  26,  Greek  24,  Hebrew 


240  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

22,  Italian  21,  Latin  23,  Persian  (Parsi  or  Zend)  45,  Rus- 
sian 33,  Sanskrit  49,  Slavonic  40,  Spanish  27  (reckoning 
the  digraphs  ch  and  II),  Syriac  22.  The  Chinese  have  no 
alphabet,  but  about  20,000  syllabic  characters. 

It  is  more  than  this ;  in  fact,  it  is  any  system  of  symbols 
or  signs  representing  letters,  syllables,  words,  or  phrases; 
as,  a  telegraphic,  a  shorthand,  or  a  deaf-and-dumb  alphabet. 
In  English  we  find  there  are  26  letters  in  the  alphabet 
ranging  from  A  to  Z.  Let  us  turn  to  every  one  of  these, 
each  in  order,  to  find  out  what  the  dictionary  tells  us  about 
them.  Here  is  A.  The  letter  came  to  us  from  the  Pheni- 
cians  through  the  Romans,  and  in  English  it  is  used  in 
combination  with  other  letters  in  such  a  way  that  it  has 
no  less  than  seven  sounds  for  its  single  form.  This  is  a 
unique  fact — that  in  English  the  vowel-letters  a,  e,  i,  o,  and 
u  are  used  to  express  many  more  sounds  than  the  symbols 
themselves.  Thus,  a  is  used  with  a  different  pronunciation 
in  artistic,  art,  fat,  fare,  ask,  sofa,  senate;  e  is  used  with 
different  valuation  in  end,  eight,  eve,  moment,  over;  i  has 
acquired  the  powers  of  sound  shown  in  the  following  words, 
pin,  pine,  police;  o  is  pronounced  in  no  less  than  five  differ- 
ent ways  as  in  ohey,  no,  not,  nor,  atom,  and  u  follows 
closely  after  with  four  sounds  for  the  same  letter,  as  is 
shown  by  the  power  of  the  letter  in  the  words  full,  rule, 
hut  and  hum. 

Proceed  by  studying  each  letter  in  the  same  way  through- 
out the  alphabet  and  you  will  thus  acquire  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  all  the  powers  of  the  letters  in  English  speech 
that  you  can  not  hope  to  get  otherwise.  Follow  this  up  by 
studying  the  principles  of  pronunciation,  as  applied  in  the 
dictionary,  as  you  will  find  them  explained  in  the  intro- 
ductory pages,  then  you  may  be  said  to  have  mastered  the 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  241 

principles  of  phonetic  expression  as  applied  to  English 
sounds. 

The  next  step  in  advance  is  to  consider  what  English 
words  are  for — to  express  ideas.  How  do  they  do  this? 
Properly  by  following  the  rules  of  grammar.  What  is 
grammar  ?  The  dictionary  tells  us  that  grammar  is  the  art 
of  speaking  and  writing  a  language  correctly;  but  it  does 
not  stop  there.  It  tells  us  in  addition  that  it  is  the  science 
that  treats  of  the  principles  that  govern  the  correct  use 
of  language,  and  that  it  is  often  so  defined  to  include  (1) 
orthography  or  the  grammar  of  letters;  (2)  phonetics  or 
phonology  or  the  grammar  of  sounds,  which  has  already 
been  considered;  (3)  etymology  or  the  grammar  or  science 
of  the  derivation  of  words;  (4)  syntax  or  the  grammar  of 
sentences;  (5)  prosody  or  the  grammar  of  verse. 

To  get  a  correct  idea  of  the  sense  of  the  italicized  words 
it  is  necessary  to  find  out  what  they  mean,  therefore,  the 
student  should  look  them  up  in  their  places  in  the  vocabu- 
lary of  the  dictionary,  each  in  turn,  and  note  their  respective 
definitions.  Orthography  is  the  science  that  treats  of  the 
art  of  spelling  words  correctly.  Spelling  is  the  art  of 
pronouncing  or  writing  the  letters  of  a  word  in  their 
proper  order.  Phonetics  or  phonology  is  the  science  of 
pronouncing  words  correctly.  Etymology  is  the  science 
of  the  origin  of  words,  their  derivation,  structure,  and 
growth.  Syntax  is  the  science  that  treats  of  the  con- 
struction of  sentences  by  combining  words  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  or  laws  of  the  language  to  which  they 
belong.  It  embraces  (1)  the  doctrine  of  the  joining  of 
words,  in  the  simple  sentence,  treating  of  their  relations  as 
elements  of  the  sentence  and  subjects  of  concord  and  goi'^- 
ernment;  (2)  the  doctrine  of  the  joining  of  sentences,  in 


242  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

compound  and  complex  sentences,  treating  of  coordination 
and  subordination ;  and  (3)  the  doctrine  of  the  collocation 
of  words  and  sentences  in  connected  speech,  treating  of  their 
arrangement  and  relative  positions  as  required  by  gram- 
matical connection,  euphony,  clearness  and  energy  of  ex- 
pression. To  get  a  perfect  idea  of  what  these  subdivisions 
treat  each  italicized  word  should  be  looked  up  and  its 
definition  carefully  studied.  Prosody  is  the  science  that 
governs  poetry  or  poetical  forms,  and  which  regulates  the 
quantity  and  accent  of  syllables,  meter,  and  versification. 
The  meaning  of  each  one  of  these  terms  should  be  written 
down  for  handy  reference  and  the  attention  should  then 
be  turned  to  the  word  seiitence.  In  grammar,  a  sentence 
consists  of  a  related  group  of  words  that  contains  certain 
parts  of  speech,  as  a  noun  and  a  verb  and  their  modifiers, 
that  express  a  complete  thought.  Before  one  can  proceed 
further  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  a  clear  understanding 
of  what  is  meant  by  parts  of  speech.  The  dictionary  tells 
us  that  a  part  of  speech  is  any  one  of  the  words  of  a 
language  that  is  classified  under  the  nine  divisions  in  Eng- 
lish grammar:  (1)  a  noun,  (2)  a  pronoun,  (3)  a  verb,  (4) 
an  adjective,  (5)  an  adverb,  (6)  a  conjunction,  (7)  a  pre- 
position, and  (8)  an  interjection.  According  to  some 
grammarians  there  is  a  ninth  class,  the  article,  which  is  now 
classed  as  a  limiting  adjective.  To  get  a  clear  conception 
of  what  these  words  are  they  must  also  be  sought  out  in 
their  places  in  the  dictionary  vocabulary.  An  industrious 
statistician  has  computed  that  in  a  dictionary  containing 
50,000  words  which,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  are 
upward  of  450,000  living  words  in  the  language  to-day, 
may  be  described  as  greatly  abridged,  there  are  approxi- 
mately 30,000  nouns,  10,000  adjectives,  5,000  verbs,  2,000 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  243 

adverbs,  80  prepositions,  50  pronouns,  30  interjections,  20 
conjunctions,  and  3  articles. 

A  noun,  we  are  told,  is  a  word  used  as  the  name  of  a 
thing,  quality,  or  action  existing  or  conceived  by  the  mind. 
Nouns  are  classified  as  (1)  proper  nouns  (sometimes  termed 
proper  names)  ;  (2)  common  nouns;  (3)  collective  nouns; 
(4)  abstract  nouns;  and  (5)  material  nouns.  A  proper 
noun  is  the  name  of  an  individual  as  distinguished  from 
others  of  the  same  class  as,  John  Smith,  London,  Mount 
Washington;  a  common  noun  is  the  name  that  an  individual 
object  has  in  common  with  others  of  its  class  as,  man,  city, 
mountain;  a  collective  noun  is  a  noun  that  expresses  an 
aggregate  or  collection  of  individuals  as,  army,  assembly, 
congregation;  an  abstract  noun  is  a  noun  that  indicates  a 
quality  as,  beauty,  goodness,  strength;  a  material  noun  is 
one  that  describes  the  material  or  homogeneous  matter  or 
mass  of  which  an  object  consists,  as  wine,  sugar,  gold,  iron. 
When  a  material  noun  is  used  in  the  plural  it  denotes 
different  kinds  of  the  substance  named. 

Before  turning  to  investigate  the  pronoun  let  us  examine 
the  definition  of  the  word  concord,  which  is  that  part  of 
syntax  which  treats  of  the  agreement  of  one  word  with 
another  as  in  gender,  number,  case,  or  person.  To  ascer- 
tain whether  a  sentence  meets  the  requirements  of  gram- 
matical principles  and  usage  we  resort  to  parsing,  which 
is  the  art  of  describing  a  word  by  giving  its  classification 
as  a  part  of  speech,  its  form  as  to  inflection  and  derivation 
or  composition,  and  its  relation  to  other  words  in  a  sentence. 
Now,  in  parsing  a  noun  there  are  three  things  which  may 
be  told  about  it  (1)  its  number;  (2)  its  gender,  and  (3)  its 
case.    Look  up  each  one  of  these  words. 

In  grammar  number  is  the  form  of  inflection  that  in- 


244  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

dicates  whether  one  thing  or  more  is  spoken  of.  It  is  a 
quality  possessed  by  (1)  nouns,  (2)  pronouns,  (3)  ad- 
jectives,^ and  (4)  verbs.  Particular  attention  should  be 
given  to  this  fact,  which  is  of  equal  importance  to  all  the 
classes  of  words  mentioned.  English  has  two  numbers, 
singular  and  plural:  The  singular  number  notes  one  per- 
son or  thing ;  as,  hoy,  man,  wife,  goose,  mouse,  etc. ;  the 
plural  number  denotes  more  than  one  person  or  thing;  as, 
boys,  men,  wives,  geese,  mice,  etc. 

Gender  is  the  property  of  certain  words  by  which  they 
indicate  the  sex  or  lack  of  sex  of  that  which  they  represent. 
In  English,  gender  is  indicated  (1)  by  endings;  (2)  by 
qualifying  words  or  prefixes;  or  (3)  by  words  used  exclu- 
sively for  males  or  females,  especially  in  pairs.  It  classifies 
words  into  masculine,  feminine,  or  neuter,  and  other  classes 
as  they  agree  in  forms  and  syntax.  There  is  a  common 
gender  which  embraces  words  that  are  of  the  same  form 
in  the  masculine  as  in  the  feminine,  as  child,  fish,  and  a 
neuter  gender  which  has  neither  masculine  nor  feminine 
properties,  as  in  day,  stone,  etc.  Examples  of  the  three 
gender-formations  referred  to  above  are:  (1)  emperor, 
empress,  widow,  widower;  (2)  man,  woman,  man  servant, 
maid  servant,  he  wolf,  she  wolf;  (3)  father,  mother;  hus- 
band, wife;  son,  daughter;  he,  she;  cock,  hen.  Certain 
neuter  words  have  a  second  gender,  as  in  personification, 
as  sun  (masculine),  moon  (feminine). 

Case  denotes  the  relation  of  a  noun,  pronoun,  or  ad- 
jective to  other  words  in  the  same  sentence.     In  English 

'Grammarians  differ  as  to  these.  Dr.  Fernald  in  his  "Working  Grammar 
of  the  English  language"  says  (p.  91)  :  "English  adjectives  have  neither  gender, 
person,  number,  nor  case."  Goold  Brown,  in  his  "Grammar  of  English  Gram- 
mars," says  (p.  542)  :  "Adjeetives  that  imply  unity  or  plurality  must  agree  with 
their  nouns  in  number;  as;  that  sort,  those  sorts;  this  hand,  these  hands." 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  245 

case  has,  for  the  most  part,  come  to  signify  a  relation,  the 
inflections,  or  case-endings,  being  confined  to  (1)  the 
possessive  case  ('s)  of  the  noun,  and  to  the  pronouns;  as, 
nominative  case,  thou ;  possessive  case,  thine ;  ohjective  case, 
thee. 

The  nominative  case  is  that  of  a  noun  or  pronoun  which 
is  the  subject  of  a  sentence  and  generally  comes  before  the 
verb;  as,  "the  nephew  dwells  in  his  uncle's  home."  The 
ohjective  case  denotes  the  case  of  the  object  of  (1)  a  tran- 
sitive verb,  or  (2)  a  preposition,  and  usually  follows  after 
its  verb;  as,  "the  Normans  colonized  Britain'^;  "he  sailed 
from  New  York  to  spend  six  weeks  in  London."  The 
possessive  case  is,  as  its  qualifying  words  suggest,  the  case  of 
a  noun  or  pronoun  that  denotes  possession,  origin,  or  the 
like.  Nouns  in  the  possessive  case  are  formed  by  the 
addition  of  *s  to  the  nominative  singular  and  to  irregular 
plurals  and  an  apostrophe  only  to  the  regular  plural;  as, 
Warren's  bicycle;  men's  souls;  hoys'  shoes. 

Pronouns  in  the  possessive  case  have  special  forms,  as 
my,  his,  her;  its;  our,  ours;  your,  yours;  their,  theirs;  whose. 
But  we  are  anticipating.  First  let  us  find  out  what  the 
dictionary  teaches  us  about  pronouns.  A  pronoun  is  a 
word  that  denotes  a  person  or  thing  by  certain  temporary 
relations,  as  I  (the  speaker),  you  (one  spoken  to),  instead 
of  by  a  name  or  noun.  There  are  five  classes  of  pronouns : 
(1)  personal;  (2)  demonstrative;  (3)  interrogative;  (4) 
relative  or  conjunctive;  (5)  indefinite.  A  personal  pro- 
noun is  one  which  denotes  or  indicates  the  person,  and 
distinguishes  the  three  grammatical  persons  from  one  an- 
other. By  person  is  meant  one  of  the  relations  or  modi- 
fications which  distinguish  the  speaker,  the  person  or  thing 
spoken  to,  the  person  or  thing  spoken  of,  also  the  forms  or 


246  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

inflections  indicating  each  relation.  The  subject  is  one  of 
three  persons,  according  as  it  is  the  one  speaking,  the  one 
spoken  to,  or  some  one  or  some  thing  that  is  spoken  of. 
There  are  no  inflections  to  indicate  the  person  in  nouns. 
In  pronouns  different  forms  designate  the  three  persons. 
First  person,  singular,  "I";  plural  "we";  second  person, 
singular,  "thou"  and  by  sanction  of  usage  also  "you"; 
plural,  "you";  third  person,  singular,  "he,"  "she,"  or 
"  it " ;  plural, ' '  they. ' '  In  verbs  certain  terminal  inflections 
indicate  the  person  of  the  subject,  and  the  verb  is  said  to 
be  in  the  same  person ;  as,  I  love,  thou  lowest,  he  loves.  In 
English  the  plural  verb  is  without  distinctive  endings;  in 
French,  German,  Latin,  and  Greek  the  persons  are  dis- 
tinguished by  inflections.  The  gender  of  a  pronoun  is 
either  masculine,  feminine^  common  (as  "one")  or  neuter. 
This  is  indicated  by  its  meaning  or  by  the  character  of  the 
noun  for  which  it  stands. 

A  demonstrative  pronoun'  is  one  which  in  itself  defines 
or  indicates  that  to  which  it  refers,  thus  pointing  out 
definite  objeicts;  as,  tJiis,  that,  these,  those. 

An  interrogative  pronoun  is  one*  used  to  ask  a:  question ; 
as,  whof  which?  what? 

A  relative  or  conjunctive  pronoun  is  one  that  refers'  or 
relates  to  an  antecedent  term-  or  expression  and  joining  to 
it  a  qualifying  clause;  as,  who,  which,  what,  and  their 
compounds,  whoever,  whichever,  whatever-  (which  are 
sometimes  called  adjectives)  and  that.  A  clause  of  a  com- 
plex sentence  introduced  by  a  relative  pronoun,  having  a 
subject  and  predicate-  of  its  owti,  and  referring  to,  de- 
scribing, or  limiting  an  antecedent,  is  called  a  relative 
clause,  as,  "he  in  whom  we  trust." 

An  indefinite  pronoun  is  one  that  represents  objects  in- 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  247 

definitely  or  generally ;  as,  any,  some,  other,  another,  each, 
either. 

Pronouns  are  used  in  the  nominative  case,  the  possessive 
case,  and  the  objective  case.  The  case  of  certain  others 
depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  they  aref  used.  The 
pronouns  used  in  the  nominative  case  are- 1,  we;  thou,  they; 
he,  she;  who,  whoever;  those  used  in  the  possessive  case  are, 
my,  mine;  thy,  thine;  his,  her,  hers;  our,  ours;  your,  yours; 
their,  theirs;  whose,  whosever;  those  used  in  the  objective 
case  are,  m^,  thee,  him,  us,  them,  whom,  whomever.  The 
case  of  the  following  pronouns  is  dependent  upon  the  man- 
ner of  their  use:  her,  herself,  himself,  you,  yourself,  your- 
selves, myself,  thyself,  ourselves,  them^'dves,  ye,  it,  itself, 
that,  what,  which,  whatever,  and  whichever. 

The  dictionary  tells  us  that  in  grammar  a  verb  is  a  part 
of  speech  which  asserts,  declares,  or  predicates  something. 
A  predicate  is  a  word  or  words  in  a  sentence  that  express 
what  is  affirmed  or  denied  of  a  subject;  that  which  is 
affirmed  or  denied  of  the  subject;  as,  in  the  sentence  "Life 
is  short,"  "short"  is  the  predicate.  The  grammatical 
predicate  is  the  bare  verb  form  in  which  the  assertion  is 
made;  the  logical  predicate  is  that  form  with  all  its  modi- 
fiers. In  the  sentence  "John  went  away  quietly,"  "went" 
is  the  grammatical  predicate,  and  "went  away  quietly"  is 
the  logical  predicate.  There  is  also  the  objective  or  factitive 
predicate,  which  is  an  adjective  or  a  noun  made  by  a  verb 
to  qualify  its  object;  as,  they  called  him  a  coward;  she 
wrings  the  clothes  dry. 

Verts  may  be  classified  with  regard  to  their  use  with  or 
without  a  grammatical  object;  as,  (1)  transitive,  including 
reflexive  and  reciprocal,  and  having  in  general  two  voices, 
active  and  passive,  and  (2)  intransitive.    With  regard  to 


248  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  expression  of  action  or  state  they  are  either  (1)  active 
or  (2)  neuter;  and  with  regard  to  the  subject  they  are 
either  (1)  personal  or  (2)  impersonal.  According  to  their 
special  import  they  also  include  the  classes  of  desideratives, 
frequentatives,  or  iteratives,  and  inchoatives.  An  auxiliary 
verb  is  one  that  assists  in  the  conjugation  of  another  verb, 
such  as  he  in  the  passive  voice,  have  in  the  perfect  tense, 
shall  and  will  as  futures ;  it  is  a  helping  word.  The  term 
formerly  had  a  much  wider  range,  embracing  not  only,  as  at 
present,  verbs  of  incomplete  predication,  but  any  sub- 
ordinate or  formative  element  of  language,  as  prefixes  or 
even  prepositions.  A  transitive  verb  is  one  that  has,  re- 
quires or  terminates  upon  a  direct  object;  followed  (in  the 
active  voice)  by  a  noun  or  pronoun  in  an  objective  or 
accusative  relation ;  also,  expressing  an  action  performed  by 
a  subject  or  agent,  that  passes  over  to  and  terminates  upon 
some  person  or  thing  as  its  object :  said  of  a  verb  or  of  the 
action  expressed  by  it;  as,  a  transitive  verb;  a  transitive 
action.  See  intransitive  below.  There  is  some  difference 
of  opinion  among  grammarians  as  to  whether  a  verb  whose 
object  is  not  expressed  shall  be  called  transitive  or  in- 
transitive, some  contending  that  any  verb  that  may  take 
an  object  is  transitive,  others  that  a  verb  is  transitive  only 
when  it  has  an  object  expressed.  In  the  "Standard  Dic- 
tionary" verbs  are  given  intransitive  definitions  whenever 
they  are  commonly  used  without  objects. 

The  word  reflexive  means  "reflected  upon  or  referring  to 
itself  or  its  subject."  There  are  reflexive  verbs  and  re- 
flexive pronouns.  A  reflexive  verb  is  one  the  object  of 
which,  be  it  expressed  or  implied,  denotes  the  same  person 
or  thing  as  its  subject.  A  reflexive  pronoun  is  a  pronoun 
that,  in  an  object  of  relation,  signifies  the  same  person  or 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  249 

thing  as  the  subject:  in  English  generally,  though  not 
necessarily,  a  compound  of  a  personal  with  self;  as,  I  dress 
myself ;  they  saw  themselves. 

The  word  reciprocal  means  "mutually  interchangeable 
or  convertible ;  such  that  one  may  be  viewed  or  accepted  as 
the  equivalent  of  the  other;  as,  reciprocal  terms."  A  re- 
ciprocal term  is  one  that  is  the  equivalent  of  another  or  is 
interchangeable  with  it. 

Voice,  in  grammar,  connotates  the  relation  of  the  subject 
of  a  verb  to  the  action  which  the  verb  expresses — that  is, 
the  relation  of  the  subject  as  acting,  acting  upon  or  for 
itself,  or  as  acted  upon.  Therefore,  it  is  the  form  of  a 
verb  (as  modified  by  inflection  or  auxiliaries)  that  expresses 
or  indicates  the  relation  of  the  subject  to  the  action 
affirmed  by  the  verb.  Collectively,  it  designates  the  various 
verb-forms,  as  so  modified,  arranged  in  a  systematic  way 
as  regards  mode,  tense,  number,  person,  etc.,  or  so  much  of 
the  conjugation  of  a  verb  as  shows  a  single  relation  of  the 
subject  to  the  action  expressed  by  the  verb ;  as,  a  paradigm 
of  the  passive  voice  of  "to  love." 

English  grammarians  give  conjugation  for  two  voices, 
the  active  and  passive.  With  them  the  passive  voice  is 
formed  with  the  past  participle,  and  some  part  of  the  sub- 
stantive verb  to  "be.  The  active  voice  has  two  forms:  one 
comprising  the  simple  inflected  forms  of  the  verb  with 
auxiliaries  not  parts  of  to  he;  the  other,  called  progressive, 
adding  the  present  participle  to  some  part  of  the  verb 
to  he.  The  active  voice  expresses  the  action  of  verbs,  as 
distinguished  from  being  and  state;  also,  as  opposed  to 
passivity.  Verb-forms  to  which  active  is  so  applied  are 
said  to  belong  to  the  active  (opposed  to  the  passive)  voice. 
Some  grammarians  use  active  in  the  sense  of  transitive. 


250  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  passive  voice  is  the  form  of  verbal  statement  that 
represents  the  subject  of  a  verb  as  the  object  of  the  action: 
opposed  to  active;  as,  in  the  statement  "Csesar  was  killed 
by  Brutus,"  the  verb  "was  killed"  is  passive. 

An  intransitive  verb  is  one  that  does  not  pass  over  to  or 
require  an  object.  It  denotes  a  state,  feeling,  or  action  that 
terminates  in  the  doer  or  agent;  as,  he  sleeps;  she  walks; 
tlie  grass  grows.  It  is  applied  to  verbs  that  do  not  govern 
a  direct  object.  Many  transitive  verbs  may  be  used  in- 
transitively, and  vice  versa.  Intransitive  verbs  often  have 
causative  transitive  verbs  corresponding  to  them;  as,  lie, 
lay;  rise,  raise;  sit,  set.  Intransitive  verbs  become  tran- 
sitive by  association  with  a  cognate  accusative,  a  positive 
predicate,  and  the  like ;  as,  he  died  a  terrible  death;  he  ran 
himself  tired.  The  cognate  accusative  or  ohjective,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  is  the  accusative  or  objective  case  of  a 
noun  which  names  the  action  of  the  verb  governing  it.  In 
the  sentence,  "to  live  one's  life,"  life  is  a  cognate  objective 
of  live.  A  positive  predicate  is  the  simple  uncompared 
form  of  a  predicate. 

A  neuter  verb  is  one  that  is  neither  active  nor  passive; 
it  is  intransitive.  A  personal  verb  is  one  that  denotes  or 
indicates  the  person ;  it  is  one  that  has  or  that  expresses 
the  distinction  of  the  three  grammatical  persons.  An  im- 
personal verb  is  one  that  has  or  contains  an  indeterminate 
subject;  as,  an  impersonal  verb;  an  impersonal  construc- 
tion. In  English  the  subject  of  an  impersonal  verb  is 
usually  the  pronoun  it,  in  apposition  with  a  following 
clause;  as,  it  grieves  me  to  see  you  m,ourn. 

As  the  adjective  desiderative  expresses  desire,  a  desider- 
ative  verb  is  one  that  is  so  formed  from  another  verb  as  to 
express  desire  of  performing  the  act    expressed    by    the 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  251 

primitive.  A  frequentative  verb  is  one  that  denotes  re- 
peated action ;  it  is  sometimes  called  an  iterative,  and  an 
inchoative  verb  is  one  that  begins  or  expresses  beginning. 

Verbs  have  participles,  modes,  and  tenses.  A  participle 
is  a  form  of  the  verb  that  may  be  used  either  verbally  or 
adjectively,  or  both  verball}^  and  adjectively.  In  the  verbal 
use  English  participles  are  active  or  passive,  present  or  past. 
The  present  participle  ends  in  -ing,  and  expresses  the 
present  tense  of  the  verb,  as  in  "the  leaves  are  falling," 
etc.  The  past  participle  ends  commonly  in  -d,  -ed,  -en,  -n, 
or  -t,  and  expresses  the  past  or  imperfect  tense,  as  in  "he 
has  learned,"  etc.  Both  present  and  past  participle  are 
sometimes  used  with  qualifying  function  and  without  an 
idea  of  time,  and  in  such  use  they  are  called  verbal  or 
participial  adjectives ;  they  are  commonly  attributive,  as  in 
* ' a  learned  man, "  " a  charming  manner, ' '  etc.  Mode  means 
"manner,"  and,  in  grammar,  it  means  specifically,  the 
manner  in  which  the  action,  being,  or  state  expressed  by  a 
verb  is  stated  or  conceived,  whether  as  actual,  doubtful, 
commanded,  etc. :  denoted  by  the  form  of  the  verb.  Also, 
the  verb-form  used  to  express  action,  etc.,  in  a  particular 
manner.  This  term  is  sometimes  but  less  correctly  called 
mood.  The  English  modes  proper  are  the  indicative,  the 
subjunctive,  and  the  imperative.  Certain  verb-phrases  are 
also  called  modes,  as  those  formed  by  may,  might,  can, 
could  (potential),  should,  would  (conditional),  must,  ought 
(obligative).  The  subjunctive  mode  is  that  mode  of  the 
finite  verb  that  is  used  to  express  doubtful  or  conditional 
assertion.  In  English  the  forms  of  the  subjunctive  mode 
are  introduced  by  conjunctions  of  doubt,  contingency,  con- 
cession, etc.,  as  if,  though,  or  whether.  Be  and  were  are 
almost  the  only  surviving  English  subjunctive  forms.     The 


252  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

tense  of  a  verb  is  the  form  taken  by  it  to  indicate  primarily 
the  time,  but  sometimes  also  the  continuance  or  completed- 
ness  of  the  action,  being,  or  state;  also,  the  temporal  re- 
lation thus  expressed.  The  English  tenses  are  formed  by 
inflection  endings,  as  in  liked;  by  vowel-change,  as  in  sang; 
or  by  the  use  of  auxiliary  verbs,  as  in  shall  see,  have  seen. 
There  are  two  primary  simple  tenses,  expressing  respec- 
tively present  and  past  time;  but  these  admit  of  many 
modifications  both  in  our  own  and  in  other  languages.  The 
tenses  are  named  aorist;  future;  imperfect;  perfect;  plu- 
perfect; present;  preterit.  The  word  tense  denotes  also 
the  grammatical  time  as  expressed  by  such  forms.  There 
is  much  discordance  in  the  views  of  grammarians  as  to  the 
offices  of  some  tenses  and  as  to  the  names  by  which  they 
should  be  called.  The  aorist  is  a  Greek  tense  (or  an 
analogous  tense  in  another  language,  as  Sanskrit),  which 
expresses  complete  action  as  a  simple  occurrence,  without 
further  limitation.  The  future  perfect  tense  is  a  tense 
that  expresses  action  as  past  with  reference  to  a  point  in 
the  future ;  as,  * '  I  shall  have  gone. ' '  Called  also  futurum 
exactum,  formerly  paulo-post-future,  and  in  English  second 
future.  The  future  tense  is  that  tense  of  a  verb  or  verbal 
form  that  expresses  future  action  or  time.  The  imperfect 
tense  indicates  past  action  as  uncompleted,  continuous,  or 
synchronous  with  some  other  action.  The  perfect  tense  is 
one  that  notes  past  or  finished  action ;  it  is  sometimes  called 
preterit.  Some  grammarians  note  in  English  a  present, 
past  (or  pluperfect),  and  a  future  perfect  tense,  a 
conditional  perfect,  and  a  perfect  infinitive  and  participle. 
See  also  imperfect;  preterit.  The  pluperfect  tense  ex- 
presses past  time  or  action  prior  to  some  other  past  time 
or  action.     It  is  the  verbal  tense  or  phrase  that  expresses 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  253 

the  past-perfect  relation,  as  English  /  had  been.  The 
present  tense  is  the  tense  marking  present  time;  as,  I  go, 
do  go,  am  going.  The  emphatic  present  is  represented  by 
do  with  an  infinitive;  as  I  do  say;  with  an  ellipsis  of  to. 
The  progressive  present  is  formed  by  the  present  participle 
with  the  verb  to  he;  as,  I  am  coming;  the  house  is  being 
huilt.  The  preterit  is  the  tense  that  expresses  absolute 
past  time  and  especially  indicates  completed  and  not  con- 
tinued past  action  as  shown  by  the  form  "he  fell."  The 
historical  tenses  are  the  past  tenses,  in  distinction  from 
those  denoting  present  or  future  time;  also,  the  present 
when  used  in  place  of  a  past  tense  for  vividness,  when  it  is 
called  the  historical  present. 

There  are  various  other  classes  of  verbs  not  yet  con- 
sidered. These  are:  (1)  The  irregular  verb  which  shows 
any  departures  from  rule  in  inflection,  as  in  abnormal  end- 
ings or  alteration  of  stem.  Specifically,  in  English:  (a)  A 
strong  verb;  a  verb  forming  its  preterit  by  vowel-change 
(as  give,  gave;  fly,  flew),  and  its  past  participle  by  en  or  n 
(as  given;  bitten;  flown).  (&)  A  verb  (like  have,  sell, 
seek,  cast,  feed,  wet,  etc.)  showing  certain  irregularities  in 
past  tense  or  past  participles.  (2)  The  regular  verb,  which 
follows  rule  in  inflection;  specifically,  in  English,  a  verb 
forming  its  preterit  and  past  participle  in  -ed  or  -d;  as 
loved;  walked.  This  -d  often  changes  to  t,  as  built.  There 
are  also  the  strong-weak  verb,  which  shows  both  vowel- 
change  and  weak  ending  (as  English  bring,  brought; 
German  bringen,  brachte),  and  the  substantive  verb,  which 
is  the  verb  to  be.  A  verb  phrase  is  a  phrase  composed  of  a 
verb  and  complementary  words,  as  participles  or  an  in- 
finitive, as  the  compound  tenses  with  have  and  be,  the  model 
verb  phrases  with  may,  can,  must,  etc.,  the  forms  of  the 


254  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

passive  voice,  etc.  A  verbal  noun  is  a  noun  directly  derived 
from  a  verb,  in  English  often  having  the  form  of  the  pres- 
ent participle. 

We  must  now  turn  to  an  entirely  different  class  of  words 
— adjectives.  The  "Standard  Dictionary"  tells  us  that  an 
adjective  is  a  word  used  to  limit  or  qualify  the  application 
of  a  noun  or  a  nominal  phrase;  as  this  book;  sweet  sounds; 
good  men ;  a  red  brick  house.     Adjectives  are  of  two  kinds : 

(1)  limiting  adjectives,  which  merely  define  or  restrict  the 
meaning  of  the  noun,  and  which  include  (a)  the  article,  (6) 
the  pronominal  adjective,  and  (c)  the  numeral  adjective; 

(2)  qualifying  adjectives,  which  denote  some  attribute  of 
the  object  named  by  the  noun.  A  7ioun  adjective  is  the 
name  of  an  attribute ;  but  this  is  a  former  designation  and  is 
opposed  to  noun  substantive,  the  name  of  an  object.  A 
participial  adjective  is  a  participle  used  as  an  adjective,  as 
"a  cultivated  mind."  A  proper  adjective  is  an  adjective 
derived  from  a  proper  noun,  as  Americati  from  America, 
A  demonstrative  adjective  is  a  demonstrative  pronoun  which 
is  used  also  as  an  adjective ;  as,  this,  that,  you,  each.  Ad- 
jectives are  said  to  have  degrees  of  comparison.  These  are 
positive,  comparative,  and  superlative.  The  same  may  be 
said  for  adverhs.  A  degree,  in  grammar,  is  one  of  the 
three  grades  in  which  an  adjective  or  adverb  is  compared. 
Or,  it  may  be  a  variation  of  form  to  indicate  the  grade 
above  noted;  as,  "sooner"  is  the  comparative  degree  of 
"soon."  Comparison  is  the  inflection  of  adjectives  or  ad- 
verbs which  indicates  differences  of  degree  in  quality,  etc. 
The  positive  degree  is  the  simple  uncompared  form  of  an 
adjective  or  adverb,  as  good  (adjective)  ;  iadly  (adverb). 
The  comparative  degree  expresses  comparison.  It  is  the 
first  degree  in  quality  above  or  below  the  positive.     It  is 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  255 

regularly  indicated  in  adjectives  by  the  addition  of  er  or  r 
to  the  positive,  as  bright,  brighter,  true,  truer,  or  by  the  use 
of  more  or  less,  as  excellent,  more  excellent,  less  excellent; 
it  is  irregularly  indicated  by  different  words,  as  good,  better. 
A  few  adverbs  are  compared  in  like  manner,  as  often, 
oftener.  The  superlative  degree  is  the  highest  degree  of 
comparison  of  the  adjective  or  adverb.  In  English  it  is 
formed  either  (a)  by  adding  -st,  -est,  to  the  positive;  as, 
brightest,  ablest;  (&)  by  prefixing  the  word  most  (or  least) 
to  the  positive,  which  is  done  especially  with  words  of  more 
than  two  syllables;  as,  most  delightful;  (c)  by  prefixing 
an  adverb  of  superlative  meaning,  as  very,  extremely,  ex- 
ceedingly, to  the  positive ;  as,  very  kind.  The  first  two  are 
called  the  superlative  relative;  the  last  the  superlative  ab- 
solute (without  comparison)  ;  opposed  to  comparative, 
positive.  A  kind  of  superlative  is  also  sometimes  formed 
with  the  suffix  -most  from  words  that  do  not  distinguish 
any  positive  and  comparative ;  for  example,  midmost,  under- 
most,  northernmost,  southmosf,  topmost. 

An  adverb  is  a  part  of  speech  used  to  modify  words  ex- 
pressing action  and  quality;  hence,  it  is  any  word  used  to 
modify  verbs,  adjectives,  or  adverbs.  Adverbs  denote  the 
way  or  manner  in  which  an  action  takes  place,  or  the 
relations  of  place,  time,  manner,  quality,  and  number,  or 
an  attribute  of  an  attribute.  Some  adverbs  are  merely 
particles  and  indeclinable,  as  now,  here,  so;  while  others 
are  not  properly  particles,  but  are  capable  of  inflection  to 
indicate  degrees  of  comparison,  as  soon,  sooner,  soonest, 
brightly,  most  brightly.  A  relative  adverb  is  an  adverb 
derived  from  a  relative  pronoun  and  relating  to  an  ante- 
cedent, as  when,  where,  whence,  etc. ;  usually  introducing 
adverbial    clauses.     An  adverbial   clause   is   a   dependent 


256  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

proposition  in  a  complex  sentence,  having  the  office  of  an 
adverb;  as,  he  visited  London  when  he  came  from  Paris. 
An  adverhial  or  adverb  phrase  is  a  phrase  having  the  force 
of  an  adverb,  as  "in  very  truth." 

So  as  not  to  exhaust  the  patience  of  the  reader  by  ex- 
tended explanations  of  the  terms  that  remain  to  be  con- 
sidered, they  are  summarized  briefly  below.  A  conjunction 
is  a  word  or  part  of  speech  that  connects  words,  clauses, 
and  sentences,  or  determines  the  relation  between  sentences, 
as  and  in  "day  and  night."  Conjunctions  are  of  two 
principal  kinds — coordinate  (coordinating)  and  sui ordinate 
(subordinating) — according  as  they  join  coordinate  clauses 
in  compound  sentences  or  subjoin  subordinate  clauses  in 
complex  sentences.  (See  coordinate  and  siib ordinate.) 
Conjunctions  are  called  correlatives  when  they  appear 
commonly  in  pairs,  and  each  introduces  an  alternative  or  a 
correlate,  as  either  and  or.  Adverhial  conjunctions  not 
only  unite  thoughts,  but  also  express  relations  of  place, 
time,  causation,  comparison,  etc.,  as  where,  when,  because, 
as,  than,  etc. 

Coordinate  conjunctions  are  those  conjunctions  that  join 
coordinate  clauses,  etc.  See  conjunction,  above.  Coordinate 
(coordinating)  conjunctions  embrace  (1)  copidative,  ex- 
pressing addition  or  expansion  (and,  also,  etc.)  ;  (2)  ad- 
versative, expressing  opposition  (hut,  notwithstanding, 
etc.)  ;  (3)  disjunctive,  expressing  exclusion  {or,  nor,  etc.)  ; 
(4)  causal,  expressing  cause  {because,  etc.)  ;  (5)  illative, 
or  inferential,  expressing  consequence  and  inference  {hence, 
therefore,  etc.). 

Subordinate  conjunctions  are  those  conjunctions  that 
join  subordinate  to  principal  clauses.  Subordinate  con- 
junctions embrace  (1)  final,  expressing  purpose  or  result 


THE    DICTIONARY    AS    A    TEXT-BOOK  257 

(that,  etc.) ;  (2)  temporal,  expressing  time  (when,  before, 
since,  etc.)  ;  (3)  local,  expressing  place  (where,  beyond, 
etc.) ;  (4)  conditional,  expressing  condition  (if,  etc.)  ;  and 
concessional,  expressing  concession  (though,  etc.). 

A  preposition  is  a  part  of  speech  or  particle  that  denotes 
the  relation  of  an  object  to  an  action  or  thing:  so  called 
because  it  is  usually  placed  before  its  object.  The  object 
is  expressed  by  a  noun  or  pronoun,  which  with  the  pre- 
position constitutes  an  adverbial  phrase,  and  the  action  or 
thing  by  a  verb,  adjective,  or  other  noun  or  pronoun.  The 
relation  expressed  was  originally  that  of  space  alone,  but 
became  extended  to  time,  cause,  etc.  See  language.  Eng- 
lish prepositions  have  been  divided  by  Maetzner  into  (1) 
those  referring  originally  to  a  starting-point,  as  of,  from, 
since;  (2)  those  supposing  a  movement  or  direction  to  an 
object,  as  to,  toward,  till,  against,  across;  (3)  those  origin- 
ally containing  the  idea  of  position  or  abiding ;  as  in,  on,  at, 
with,  among;  (4)  those  that  refer  decidedly  to  a  contrary 
determination,  as  but,  save,  notwithstanding. 

An  interjection  is  a  part  of  speech  that  expresses  sudden 
emotion,  excitement,  or  feeling,  as,  oh!  alas!  hurrah! 

This  investigation  may  also  include  the  tracing  of  the 
etymology  of  each  word  recorded  if  desired.  But,  suf- 
ficient has  been  given  above  to  show  how  much  benefit 
can  be  obtained  by  a  systematic  study  of  the  contents  of 
a  dictionary.  By  turning  back  it  is  easy  to  see  that  one 
word  leads  to  the  other  through  the  entire  series  until  the 
whole  subject  has  been  traversed,  and  by  following  the  plan 
herein  outlined,  any  intelligent  person  with  a  dictionary 
before  him  can  obtain  with  comparative  ease  at  his  desk 
extended  knowledge  of  any  silbject  on  which  he  may  wish 


25S  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

to  inform  himself.  Apply  the  plan  to  some  other  branch 
of  learning,  and  the  result  will  be  the  same.  The  advan- 
tages of  following  such  a  course  of  study  are  various.  In 
addition  to  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  subject,  one, 
almost  unconsciously,  learns  to  spell  correctly,  acquires  an 
enlarged  vocabulary  of  words  and  their  derivations,  and 
learns  how  to  use  them  correctly. 

The  man  and  woman  who  purchase  dictionaries  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  themselves  purchase  the  short-cut  to  a 
complete  education  in  all  that  it  contains,  IF  they  will 
use  it  intelligently.  Properly  used,  the  dictionary  may  be 
made  the  greatest  of  all  factors  in  education.  Approach  it 
how  we  may,  no  matter  how  wide  the  range  of  our  knowl- 
edge, it  teaches  us  the  wisdom  of  humility,  for  not  one 
of  us  is  certain  that  he  has  a  complete  mastery  of  its  con- 
tents, even  though  some  may  delude  themselves  into  be- 
lieving that  they  have.  He  who  purchases  it  may  well 
consider  its  price  a  charity  to  himself. 


VIII 


The  Function  of  Grammar 

A  KNOWLEDGE  of  the  science  that  treats  of  the  principles 
which  govern  the  correct  use  of  language  in  either  oral  or 
written  form  is  essential  but  not  indispensable  to  the  correct 
use  of  English  words.  This  science  is  known  as  grammar 
which  has  been  defined  as  "the  way  to  speak  and  write 
language  correctly."  A  knowledge  of  grammar  is  a  de- 
sirable adjunct  to  correct  writing,  because  if  one  would  be- 
come a  master  of  English,  one  must  have  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  collocation  of  words  and  sentences,  that  is,  the 
treating  of  their  arrangement  and  relative  positions  and 
grammatical  connection,  producing  euphony,  clearness,  and 
energy  of  expression. 

Rules  governing  the  correct  use  of  English  words  are 
codified  and  are  available  in  every  grammar  of  the  English 
language,  where  the  exceptions  to  these  rules  are  not  always 
truthfully  told.  Grammarians,  ever  since  the  best  usages 
of  the  language  have  been  codified,  have  split  hairs  the  one 
with  the  other  so  persistently  that  the  student  of  language 
is  sometimes  puzzled  to  know  whether  the  particular 
form  of  expression  he  wishes  to  use  is  or  is  not  correct.  In 
this  respect  most  grammarians  are  helpless  to  aid  him  for 
they  reflect  only  the  views  of  their  compilers.  The  student, 
therefore,  is  often  unable  to  determine  what  form  of  ex- 
pression will  pass  miister  as  good  English. 

A  reviewer  of  Professor  Thomas  Lounsbury's  book,  **The 

259 


260  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Standard  of  Usage  in  English,"  writing  to  "The  Globe" 
(New  York),  lately,  said:  ''Professor  Lounsbury  is  not  one 
of  those  who  lament  the  lack  of  an  '  authoritative '  grammar. 
He  agrees  to  a  certain  extent  with  Forster  that  'as  soon  as 
grammar  is  printed  it  begins  to  go, '  and  he  subscribes  with 
enthusiasm  to  the  view  of  a  Yale  professor  that  'language 
can  not  be  school-mastered.'  Professor  Lounsbury  quotes 
with  appreciation  a  passage  in  Scott's  diary,  where  he  takes 
issue  with  his  son-in-law,  Lockhart:  'J.  G.  L.  points  out 
some  solecisms  in  my  style,  as  amid  for  amidst,  scarce  for 
scarcely.  ^^ Whose,"  he  says,  "is  the  proper  genitive  of 
ivhich  only  at  such  times  as  which  retains  its  quality  of 
impersonification. ' '  Well !  I  will  try  to  remember  all  this, 
but  after  all,  I  write  grammar  as  I  speak,  to  make  my  mean- 
ing known,  and  a  solecism  in  point  of  composition,  like  a 
Scotch  word  in  speaking,  is  indifferent  to  me  ...  I  believe 
the  Bailiff  in  "The  Good-natured  Man"  is  not  far  wrong 
when  he  says,  "One  man  has  one  way  of  expressing  him- 
self, and  another  another,  and  that  is  all  the  difference 
between  them."  '  " 

The  chief  value  of  Professor  Lounsbury 's  work  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  demonstrates  clearly  ( 1 )  that  rules  of  grammar 
are  worthless  if  they  be  not  founded  upon  the  usages  of 
reputable  authors,  and  (2)  that  the  grammarian  who  does 
not  accept  this  usage  as  his  guide  shows  by  this  very  practise 
his  unfitness  for  the  task  he  has  undertaken,  "his  own  in- 
competence and  the  worthlessness  of  the  results  he  reaches. ' ' 

In  our  own  time  most  of  the  schoolmasters,  and  the 
majority  of  the  pedants  are  eagerly  striving  to  fix  the  lan- 
guage with  rules  of  grammar.  There  is  a  straining  toward 
the  austerities  of  grammatical  purity  on  every  side.  Our 
teachers  have  forgotten  that  the  function  of  grammar  is  not 


THE   FUNCTION   OF    GRAMMAR  261 

to  anticipate  and  formulate  thought,  and  its  mode  of  ex- 
pression, but  to  follow  after  them  and  analyze  and  describe 
them.  For  the  earliest  English  grammar  we  must  go  back 
to  the  time  of  the  Tudors;  William  Bullokar  in  1586  pub- 
lished "A  Bref  Grammar  for  English"  which  he  claimed 
was  *  *  the  first  grammar  for  English  that  ever  was, ' '  and  he, 
Hke  many  who  followed  him,  set  about  to  harness  the  lan- 
guage after  the  Latin  model  then  in  use.  "Even  so  late 
as  1796,"  says  Ramsey^  "the  grammar  of  Thomas  Coar, 
published  in  London,  filled  its  pages  with  diagrams  like 
the  following : 


Singular 

Plural 

Nom. 

a  house 

Nom. 

houses 

Gen. 

of  a  house 

Gen. 

of  houses 

Dat. 

to  a  house 

Dat. 

to  houses 

Ace. 

a  house 

Ace. 

houses 

Voc. 

0  house 

Voc. 

0  houses 

Ahl. 

with  a  house 

Ahl. 

with  houses 

The  English  language  is  so  beset  with  irregularities  and 
with  exceptions  to  grammatical  rule  that  in  its  study  the 
dictionary  is  far  more  helpful  than  the  treatise  on  grammar. 
At  the  very  time  the  Tudor  grammarians  were  struggling 
to  harness  our  speech  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  in  his  "Defence 
of  Poesie"  said:  "Another  will  say  that  English  wanteth 
grammar.  Nay,  truly,  it  hath  that  praise  that  it  wants  not 
grammar;  for  grammar  it  might  have,  but  needs  it  not, 
being  so  easie  in  itselfe,  and  so  void  of  those  cumbersome 
differences  of  cases,  genders,  moods  and  tenses  .  .  .  that 
a  man  should  be  put  to  schoole  to  leame  his  mother  tongue. 
But  for  the  uttering  sweetly  and  properly  the  conceit  of 

1  "The  English  Langnage  and  English  Grammar,"  p.  49. 


262  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  minde,  which  is  the  ende  of  speech,  that  it  hath  equally 
with  any  other  tongue  in  the  world." 

Kead  the  works  of  the  English  Classics,  above  all  read  the 
three  great  monuments  of  the  English  tongue — the  Bible, 
Shakespeare,  and  Milton — and  you  will  experience  very 
little  difficulty  with  English  grammar.  The  late  Dr.  Whit- 
ney^ claimed  that  the  study  of  grammar  was  not  "by  any 
means  necessary  in  order  to  acquire  correctness  of  speech. 
Most  persons  learn  good  English  in  the  same  way  that  they 
learn  English  at  all — namely,  by  hearing  and  reading. ' '  But 
the  conversation  must  be  with  persons  who  speak  correctly, 
and  the  reading  from  books  that  are  written  by  the  best 
authors.  Who  are  the  best  authors?  They  are  those 
writers  whose  works  have,  by  common  consent  of  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking races  become  the  Classics  of  our  tongue. 
Edward  S.  Gould,  who  in  his  "Good  English"^  set  out  to 
prove  how  many  masters  of  our  speech  violated  its  canons 
does  not  agree  with  this.  He  says,  "As  a  general  rule,  the 
usage  of  good  writers  is  held  to  be  the  common  law  of  the 
language.  Such  usage,  therefore,  is  prima  facie  evidence 
of  the  accuracy  of  a  disputed  word  or  phrase.  But  the 
final  proof  of  accuracy  can  not  be  established  by  usage; 
because  the  writer,  in  any  particular  instance,  may  have 
been  guilty  of  carelessness;  he  may  have  used  the  word 
or  phrase  inadvertently ;  and  if  it  is  fairly  presumable  that, 
were  his  attention  called  to  the  point,  he  would  admit  the 
error,  his  example  can  not  be  permitted  to  justify  what 
sound  philological  principles  must  condemn.  In  other 
words,  the  records  of  usage  are  liable  to  review,  and  there- 
fore usage  is  not  the  court  of  last  resort. 

'  W.  Whitney,  "Essentials  of  English  Grammar." 
"Pp.  3-4. 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    GRAMMAR  263 

"There  are,  however,  many  persons  who  dispute  that 
proposition;  persons  who  lack  sensibility  to  the  evils  of 
corruption  in  philology;  who  think  the  purposes  of  lan- 
guage are  fulfilled  when  a  speaker  or  writer  has  made 
himself  understood ;  who  regard  conservative  views  in 
philology  as  obstinate  adherence  to  the  past;  and  whose 
principles,  if  they  can  be  called  such,  would  go  to  the 
extreme  of  justifying  error  itself  by  erroneous  precedents. 
Such  reasoning  can  lead  to  nothing  but  literary  anarchy. 

"He  can  not  shut  his  eyes  to  the  very  rudiments  of 
grammar.  He  dares  not  deny  that  syntax  is  subject  to 
grammatical  rules.  He  must  admit  the  necessity  of  con- 
cord between  verbs  and  nouns  in  the  matters  of  number 
and  person,  as  well  as  the  submission  of  cases  to  the  govern- 
ment of  verbs  and  prepositions.  And  so  forth.  And,  if 
he  does  admit  such  necessity,  he  must  further  admit  that 
no  amount  of  usage  can  supersede  it. ' ' 

But  in  the  foregoing  Gould  has  inverted  the  order  of 
things.  People  learn  to  speak  correctly  much  as  a  child 
learns  how  to  walk  properly.  The  proof  of  this  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  many  of  the  masterpieces  of  the 
world's  literature  were  produced  by  men  who  had  abso- 
lutely no  knowledge  of  grammar ;  who,  in  fact,  never  heard 
of  it.  Guizot  believes  that  Shakespeare,  who  was  a  notorious 
violator  of  grammatical  precision,  did  so  intentionally, 
desiring  to  produce  the  language  of  the  period  of  which  he 
wrote.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  it 
was  in  his  time  that  the  grammarians  aimed  to  put  the 
English  tongue  into  the  Latin  harness. 

"If  grammar  does  not  make  rules  for  the  government  of 
language,  what  is  its  use?"  asks  Ramsey.*     The  answer  is 

♦  Loc.   cit.  cupra.,  p.   50. 


264  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

that  grammar  serves  to  dissect  written  or  spoken  thought 
somewhat  after  the  manner  that  the  surgeon  anatomizes  the 
human  body.  Grammar  is  an  anatomical  science  rather 
than  a  creative  one.  The  grammarian 's  duty,  like  the  lexi- 
cographer's,  is  not  to  seek  to  create  the  facts,  but  to  state 
them,  and  to  state  them  and  classify  them  as  he  finds  them. 
In  our  time  many  persons  condemn  the  split  infinitive  as  a 
mode  of  expression  that  violates  grammatical  precision. 
But  if  reputable  usage  shows  that  this  mode  of  expression 
is  permissible  it  is  not  only  the  province  but  the  duty  of 
the  grammarian  to  state  the  fact.  He  may,  if  he  so  desires, 
and  the  facts  warrant  his  doing  so,  state  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  most  accurate  speakers  and  writers  of  his  time 
avoid  this  form  of  expression ;  but  if  the  expression  is  the 
only  one  recognized  in  its  class,  and  it  has  in  its  favor  a 
consensus  of  reputable  usage,  the  grammarian  must  recog- 
nize it  as  accepted.  The  chief  value  of  grammar  lies  in 
the  fact  that  its  study  enables  one  to  produce  sentences 
that  are  mechanically  correct.  This  function  prepares  the 
path  to  rhetoric,  it  is  true,  but  it  leads  to  stiffness,  for  to 
the  majority  of  persons  who  are  learning  to  write  for  pub- 
lication the  order  in  which  they  shall  set  their  words  causes 
more  trouble  to  them  than  the  art  of  speaking  them. 

"To  those  persons  who  set  about  learning  to  write,  the 
art  of  arranging  words  seems  to  be  more  important  than 
the  words  themselves,"  says  Havelock  Ellis.  "This  tends 
to  make  them  assiduous  students  of  grammar  and  syntax, 
and  leads  them  to  write  to  formal  order  instead  of  by  divine 
right  of  creative  instinct.  The  most  pronounced  sign  of 
the  decadence  of  a  nation  and  its  literature  is  slavish  sub- 
servience to  rule."^     Spoken  words  come  naturally,  but 

*  "Westminster   Review,"   p.    629. 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    GRAMMAR  265 

words  written  under  the  conditions  described  are  usually 
arrayed  with  mechanical  precision,  yet  lack  that  force 
which  freedom  of  thought  and  expression  would  give  them. 

In  a  recently  published  essay  on  ''The  Simplicity  of 
English,"^  Dr.  Fernald,  referring  to  grammarians,  wrote: 
' '  The  trouble  with  many  English  graramajians  has  been  that 
they  have  known  too  much.  By  the  time  a  man  has  mas- 
tered the  hundreds  of  parts  of  the  Latin  and  the  Greek 
verb,  and  the  Hiphil,  Hophal,  and  Hithpael  of  the  Hebrew ; 
when  he  knows  the  five  declensions  of  Latin  and  the  three 
of  Greek  nouns  and  the  various  declensions  of  adjectives  to 
suit  all  of  these  nouns;  when  he  has  labored  through  the 
Slough  of  Despond  of  German  genders,  and  added  a  light 
fringe  of  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian  eccentricities,  he  is 
apt  to  become  an  incarnate  inflection.  He  feels  that  lan- 
guage exists  in  order  to  be  inflected.  It  is  beautiful  and 
rich  according  as  it  can  be  tabulated  in  paradigms  under 
the  law  of  permutations.  He  looks  upon  all  that  is  self- 
evident  and  straightforward  with  the  scorn  of  an  expert 
in  mysteries  and  occult  arts.  ...  He  longs  to  recast  the 
language  and  run  it  into  traditional  moulds,  from  which 
it  should  come  forth  with  cogs  and  cams  and  dovetails  to 
be  interlocked  with  mathematical  precision. ' ' 

And  in  an  address  delivered  to  the  Woman 's  Club  of  the 
Chautauqua  Institution,  the  same  writer,  while  admitting 
the  helpfulness  of  grammar  and  dictionary  as  summary 
statements  and  guides,  warned  his  audience  against  the 
error  of  considering  that  grammar  and  dictionary  make  the 
language  and  not  that  they  merely  offer  condensed  expres- 
sion of  facts  to  be  derived  from  observation  of  language  in 
use.     Dr.  Fernald  added,  **The  use  of  the  best  writers  of 

•  "Harper's  Monthly,"  Soptcmber,   1909,  p.  618. 


266  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

all  time,  and  of  the  best  speakers  of  the  present  day,  should 
be  the  guide  to  correctness  of  speech."^ 

The  student  of  language  who  wishes  to  consult  a  gram- 
mar will  find  few  better  guides  than  "The  Grammar  of 
English  Grammars,"  written  by  Goold  Brown  in  1851. 
Many  other  grammars  have  been  published  since  this  book 
appeared ;  some  by  persons  high  in  authority  in  education, 
who  were  well  exploited  for  their  efforts;  others  by  gram- 
marians who  differed  in  opinion  with  their  contemporaries 
or  predecessors  and  whose  grammars  were  written  for  the 
purpose  of  airing  personal  views  or  admonishing  those 
writers  with  whom  they  felt  themselves  at  odds.  The  use- 
fulness of  such  grammars  is  open  to  question.  Goold  Brown 
says: 

"Like  every  other  grammarian,  I  stake  my  reputation  as  an 
author  upon  'a  certain  set  of  opinions/  and  a  certain  manner 
of  ex'hibiting  them,  appealing  to  the  good  sense  of  my  readers 
for  the  correctness  of  both.  All  contrary  doctrines  are  un- 
avoidably censured  by  him  who  attempts  to  sustain  his  own; 
but,  to  grammatical  censures,  no  more  importance  ought  to  be 
attached  than  what  belongs  to  grammar  itself.  He  who  cares 
not  to  be  accurate  in  the  use  of  language,  is  inconsistent  with 
himself,  if  he  be  offended  at  verbal  criticism;  and  he  who  is 
displeased  at  finding  his  opinions  rejected,  is  equally  so,  if  he  can 
not  prove  them  to  be  well  founded.  It  is  only  in  cases  sus- 
ceptible of  a  rule,  that  any  writer  can  be  judged  deficient.  I 
can  censure  no  man  for  differing  from  me,  till  I  can  show  him 
a  principle  which  he  ought  to  follow.  According  to  Lord 
Kames,  the  standard  of  taste,  both  in  arts  and  in  manners,  is 
'the  common  sense  of  mankind,'  a  principle  founded  in  the  uni- 
versal conviction  of  a  common  nature  in  our  species.^  If  this 
is  so,  the  doctrine  applies  to  grammar  as  fully  as  to  any  thing 
about  which  criticism  may  concern  itself. 

">  "The  Chautauqua  Daily,"  August  11,  1909,  p.  7,  col.  2. 
8  See   "Elements  of  Criticism,"   Vol.   IT.,   ch.   xxv,  p.   364. 


THE    FUNCTION    OF    GRAMMAR  267 

"M^  main  design  has  been,  to  prepare  a  work  which,  by  its 
own  completeness  and  excellence,  should  deserve  the  title  here 
chosen.  But,  a  comprehensive  code  of  false  grammar  being 
confessedly  the  most  effectual  means  of  teaching  what  is  true, 
1  have  thought  fit  to  supply  this  portion  of  my  book,  not  from 
anonymous  or  uncertain  sources,  but  from  the  actual  text  of 
other  authors,  and  chiefly  from  the  works  of  professed  gram- 
marians. 

"It  was  some  ambition  of  the  kind  here  meant,  awakened  by 
a  discovery  of  the  scandalous  errors  and  defects  which  abound 
in  all  our  common  English  grammars,  that  prompted  me  to 
undertake  the  present  work.  Now,  by  the  bettering  of  a  lan- 
guage, I  understand  little  else  than  the  extensive  teaching  of 
its  jtist  forms,  according  to  analogy  and  the  general  custom  of 
the  most  accurate  writers.  This  teaching,  however,  may  well 
embrace  also,  or  be  combined  with,  an  exposition  of  the  various 
forms  of  false  grammar  by  which  inaccurate  writers  have  cor- 
rupted, if  not  the  language  itself,  at  least  their  own  style  of  it. 

"With  respect  to  our  present  English,  I  know  not  whether 
any  other  improvement  of  it  ought  to  be  attempted,  than  the 
avoiding  and  correcting  of  those  improprieties  and  unwarrant- 
able anomalies  by  which  carelessness,  ignorance,  and  affectation, 
are  ever  tending  to  debase  it,  and  the  careful  teaching  of  its 
true  grammar,  according  to  its  real  importance  in  education. 
What  further  amendment  is  feasible,  or  is  worthy  to  engage 
attention,  I  will  not  pretend  to  say." 

Punctuation,  when  used  to  indicate  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  separation  in  the  relations  of  the  thought,  as  by 
division  into  sentences,  clauses,  and  phrases,  to  aid  in  the 
better  comprehension  of  the  meaning  and  grammatical 
relation  of  words,  is  known  as  grammatical  punctuation. 
In  general  its  purpose  is  to  enable  the  reader  to  note  the 
different  pauses  and  inflections  required  to  produce  the 
effect  which  the  writer  desires  to  convey.  The  system  of 
punctuation  used  in  English  resembles  that  common  to  the 
European  languages.    The  Germans  favor  open  rather  than 


268  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

close  punctuation,  and  consequently  make  less  frequent  use 
of  the  comma  than  most  writers  in  English.  If  this  subject 
is  to  be  applied  intelligently  it  must  be  studied  carefully, 
and  the  relative  length  of  the  different  pauses  mastered  in 
connection  with  the  points  which  represent  them  before  it 
is  possible  to  make  a  correct  use  of  them.  The  chief  points 
used  to  denote  the  different  pauses  are  the  comma  (,)  which 
denotes  the  shortest  pause,  the  semicolon  ( ;)  a  pause  double 
the  length  of  that  of  the  comma,  the  colon  ( : )  a  pause 
double  the  length  of  the  semicolon,  and  the  period  (.) 
double  the  length  of  the  colon.  The  value  of  the  other  four 
points  depends  upon  the  structure  of  the  sentences  in  which 
they  are  used.  In  marking  pauses  they  may  be  the  equal  of 
any  of  the  foregoing,  but  two  of  them  serve  in  a  measure 
to  mark  the  inflections.  These  are  the  dash  ( — ) ,  the  note 
of  interrogation  ( ? ) ,  the  note  of  exclamation  ( ! ) ,  and  the 
parenthesis  [  ( )  ] .  The  dash  is  used  chiefly  to  indicate  an 
emphatic  or  unexpected  pause  of  variable  duration.  It  is 
used  also  to  denote  hesitancy  as  in  speech.  The  note  of 
interrogation,  as  its  name  implies,  is  used  to  designate  a 
question;  the  note  of  exclamation  indicates  a  pause  de- 
noting joy,  grief,  or  other  strong  emotion  or  marked  aston- 
ishment, in  which  case  sometimes  it  is  repeated — a  practise 
commonly  condemned  as  inelegant  nowadays,  but  one  which 
formerly  had  some  vogue.  ' '  Grammatical  consistency ! ! ! " 
wrote  John  Pierce,^  and  added  "What  a  gem!"  The 
parentheses  are  used  to  enable  the  writer  to  inject  into  a 
sentence  an  incidental  clause  which  does  not  properly  belong 
there.  In  reading,  this  is  generally  spoken  in  a  lower  tone 
and  faster  than  the  principal  sentence. 

•  "A  Plain  and  Easy  Introduction  of  English  Grammar,"  page  352,  Phila- 
delphia,  1804. 


THE    FUNCTION   OF    GRAMMAR  269 

The  late  Dr.  Theodore  De  Vinne,  in  his  **  Correct  Com- 
position, '  '^"^  says,  ' '  A  working  knowledge  of  punctuation  is 
not  to  be  acquired  by  merely  learning  rules.  .  .  .  The  great 
object  of  punctuation  is  to  make  clear  to  the  reader  the 
meaning  of  the  author.  Rules  are  of  value,  but  the  unfold- 
ing of  obscure  sense  is  the  object  of  most  importance."  In 
tne  work  referred  to.  Dr.  De  Vinne  includes  an  excellent 
essay  on  punctuation  that  presents  the  subject  clearly  and 
tersely.  A  brief  explanation  of  the  subject,  with  examples 
illustrating  the  correct  application  of  points,  may  be  found 
in  the  writer's  "Preparation  of  Manuscripts  for  the 
Printer." 

>»P.  293. 


IX 


Phonetics,  Pronunciation,  and  Reading 

Among  the  essentials  of  English  speech  the  most  im- 
portant is  a  knowledge  of  how  to  pronounce  words 
correctly,  for  correct  pronunciation  is  the  evidence  of 
education,  and  it  may  be  fostered  and  developed  by  a  course 
of  intelligent  and  useful  reading.  But  to  be  able  to  read 
correctly  one  must  be  well  grounded  in  the  different  values 
of  the  letters  of  the  English  alphabet  in  their  various  com- 
binations. Hence,  a  few  words  upon  the  means  employed 
to  teach  the  young  idea  how  to  speak  its  mother  tongue 
and  how  to  read  to  advantage  are  given  below. 

1.  Phonetics  and  Pronunciation 

Those  of  us  who  have  attended  public  school  know  of 
the  efforts  made  to  stimulate  good-natured  competition 
among  boys  and  girls  to  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
spelling  and  a  correct  pronunciation,  for  these  two  branches 
of  education  are  highly  valued  by  teachers. 

As  a  rule,  modern  methods  of  teaching  these  necessary 
adjuncts  to  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  English  lan- 
guage are  complex.  They  are  beset  by  so  many  difficulties, 
especially  in  the  field  of  pronunciation,  in  the  guise  of  dots 
and  dashes,  curves  and  curlicues,  that  the  child  who  studies 
English  by  these  methods  is  greatly  retarded  in  its  studies. 
The  powers  of  memory  of  a  child  are  severely  taxed  when 
it  is  condemned  to  labor  over  chaotic  aggregations  of  signs 
for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  arbitrary 

270 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING      271 

rules  that  govern  the  various  combinations  of  letters  that 
enable  it  to  read  and  write.  These  chaotic  aggregations 
form  a  chief  stumbling-block  to  the  progress  of  a  child. 
But  it  is  not  only  the  child  that  suffers ;  the  teacher  too  is 
beset  with  perplexities  difficult  to  solve,  as  has  been  evi- 
denced recently  at  Kings  College,  London,^  where  a  con- 
ference was  held  to  consider  the  best  means  for  teaching 
pronunciation. 

At  this  conference  two  methods  of  teaching  pronunciation 
were  considered.  Professor  H.  Caldwell  Cook,  represent- 
ing the  schools  of  Cambridge,  advocated  the  pronun- 
ciation of  unstressed  vowels.  He  declared  that  what  was 
wrong  with  English  pronunciation  was  that  it  was  slipshod 
and  careless — a  declaration  with  which  any  one  who  has 
studied  the  subject  should  agree.  But  in  this  case,  as  in 
many  another  which  comes  up  in  the  teaching  of  the 
English  language,  the  doctors  disagree.  Professor  H.  C.  K. 
Wyld,  of  Liverpool  University,  attacked  this  theory,  and 
said  that  careful  speech  was  either  ludicrous  or  vulgar.  He 
thought  the  best  pronunciation  to  teach  was  that  which 
would  not  make  a  boy  appear  ludicrous  when  he  went  out 
into  the  world,  and  perhaps  the  best  type  is  that  of  the 
army  officer  of  the  old  school.  But  the  worthy  Professor 
has  evidently  forgotten  that  "the  army  officer  of  the  old 
school"  is  a  law  unto  himself  as  much  in  the  pronouncing 
of  words  as  in  his  interpretation  of  their  meaning.  The 
writer,  who  in  the  course  of  his  career  has  come  into  contact 
with  army  men  of  "the  old  school,"  from  Major  to  General, - 
has  had  ample  opportunity  to  judge  of  the  quality  of  this 
pronunciation,  both  in  formal  address  and  in  conversation, 
and  his  judgment  is  that  the  army  man's  lead  is  a  poor  one 

'  January  8,  1915.  ^  Of  the  British  army. 


272  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

to  follow.  Two  of  the  characteristics  of  the  pronunciation 
referred  to — if  such  it  may  be  called — are  the  obscuring 
of  the  initial  "h"  and  the  clipping  of  the  final  "g" — 
characteristics  which  would  never  have  been  indulged  had 
the  persons  concerned  been  taught  correct  pronunciation. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  obscure 
the  unstressed  vowels  in  colloquial  English  conversation, 
and  this  is  due  chiefly  to  rapidity  of  speech;  but  this  ten- 
dency is  largely  overcome  when  the  speaker  takes  time  to 
express  his  thought.  Professor  Walter  Rippman,  an  expert 
on  phonetic  values,  believes  that  clearer  and  better  speech 
is  a  matter  of  articulation  and  not  of  the  stressing  of  un- 
stressed syllables,  while  Dr.  Daniel  Jones,  who  is  lecturer 
on  phonetics  at  the  University  College,  London,  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  best  pronunciation  is  that  which  is  not 
obstrusive.  In  his  judgment  affected  speech  is  bad.  Just 
exactly  what  is  meant  by ' '  affected  speech ' '  is  not  explained, 
but  if  this  means  assumed  or  unnatural  speech,  then  one 
must  agree  with  the  dictum.  If  it  be  an  affectation  of  speech 
to  ignore  the  '*h"  in  such  words  as  which,  what,  when,  and 
whither,  then  one  must  write  down  the  great  mass  of  the 
English  people  as  affected.  Of  the  two  methods  considered 
at  the  Kings  College  conference  there  can  be  no  question 
that  the  first  is  to  be  preferred,  for  teach  a  child  the  correct, 
formal  pronunciation  of  words  as  units  and  you  teach  it  at 
the  same  time  to  observe  not  only  the  vowel  values  of  their 
contents  but  the  accentuation  and  the  syllabic  division  also, 
thereby  producing  far  better  spellers  than  by  the  word- 
picture  method  of  sight-reading. 

No  one  should  expect  to  make  over  an  adult  who  has  de- 
voted twenty  years  of  his  life  to  acquiring  a  slovenly 
enunciation.     No  amount  of  teaching  can  uproot  all  the 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING      273 

evils  of  mispronunciation  in  the  grown  man;  but  these 
evils  can  be  checked,  corrected,  and  even  eradicated  in  the 
young.  None  but  a  Liverpool  professor  would  expect  a 
grown  man  to  cure  himself  of  habits  of  mispronunciation 
acquired  through  years  of  contact  with  fellow  men  equally 
as  careless  with  their  diction.  The  purpose  of  that  London 
Conference  was  evidently  to  determine  whether  or  not 
teachers  of  English  should  instruct  their  charges  in  the 
correct  way  to  speak  English — giving  full  utterance  to  all 
sounds  in  every  spoken  word ;  that  is,  teach  them  the  formal 
pronunciation  of  words.  Time  and  tide  of  public  affairs 
will  take  care  of  the  unstressed  vowel,  the  silent  letters,  etc. 
"We  are  all  in  a  hurry,  and  never  more  so  than  when  we 
speak.  We  suffer  from  a  chronic  disease — that  of  trying 
to  say  what  we  have  to  say  before  the  other  fellow  gets 
a  chance  to  say  it  for  us,  and  so  correct  pronunciation  goes 
by  the  board.  Have  you  ever  heard  anything  more  utterly 
absurd  than  the  variant  pronunciations  of  our  little  word 
"yes"?  Would  that  the  public  discard  it  altogether  and 
revert  to  the  *'yea"  of  our  Puritan  forebears. 

Realizing  the  necessity  for  removing  the  stumbling-block 
that  has  impeded  the  advance  of  both  pupil  and  teacher, 
the  National  Education  Association  appointed  a  commit- 
tee for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  adoption  of  a  uniform 
and  consistent  system  by  which  all  the  sounds  in  the  English 
language  could  be  correctly  indicated.  But  this  Associa- 
tion was  not  the  first  to  recognize  this  need,  for  in  the  third 
decade  of  the  closing  half  of  last  century  it  had  received 
the  attention  of  a  committee  of  the  foremost  scholars  of  the 
time,  some  of  whom  are  living  to-day.  Until  this  committee 
began  its  work  the  means  of  indicating  pronunciation  ac- 
curately had  not  received  such  attention  from  educators  as 


274  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  importance  of  the  subject  required.  Even  after  the 
labors  of  this  committee  had  been  completed  educators 
were  slow  to  adopt  the  recommendations  of  the  committee, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  had  devised  the  most  logical 
and  consistent  method  for  indicating  sounds. 

Prior  to  this  period,  and  for  some  years  afterward,  none 
but  motley  methods  for  indicating  pronunciation  had  been 
used — used  not  only  in  the  dictionaries,  but  also  in  the 
text-books.  Then  (and  even  now)  pronunciation  was  ex- 
pressed by  the  same  chaotic  aggregations  of  dots  and 
dashes  above  or  below  the  letters,  together  with  curves  and 
curlicues,  until  it  became  necessary  for  the  student  of 
orthoepy  to  commit  to  memory  no  less  than  85  sound-signs 
in  order  to  study  the  subject  intelligently.  These  sound- 
signs  varied  with  the  successive  revisions  of  the  different 
works  presenting  them,  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  author  or 
the  editor-in-charge.  That  such  a  method  would  ultimately 
be  condemned  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  yet  while  it  was 
tolerated  at  large  it  was  discountenanced  by  the  leading 
philologists  of  this  country  and  by  many  eminent  scholars 
abroad. 

On  this  subject  Dr.  Charles  P.  G.  Scott,  who  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Century 
Dictionary,  having  been  editor-in-chief  of  the  department 
of  etymology  of  that  work,  and  who  comparatively  recently 
was  editor  of  the  new  "Worcester  Dictionary  in  course 
of  revision,  once  said: 

"In  my  opinion,  long  held,  and  confirmed  in  the  most  positive 
manner  by  a  somewhat  extensive  lexicographic  experience  and 
philologic  study,  the  so-called  'system'  of  notation  used  in  the 
current  American  and  English  dictionaries  (ex'cept  the  Oxford 
and  the  Standard)  is  thoroughly  bad — unhistoric,  unscientific, 
unliterary,  unscholarly,  inconsistent,  irrational,  ineffective,  ut- 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     275 

terly  senseless  in  itself.  There  is  not  only  no  redeeming  merit 
in  it — it  is  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  understanding  and  teaching 
of  the  simplest  facts  concerning  the  pronunciation  of  English 
and  its  true  historical  position,  and  its  relation  with  other  lan- 
guages." 

While,  as  has  been  said  above,  such  a  condition  is  still 
tolerated  at  large,  great  strides  have  been  made  during  the 

New  Correct  Pairing  of  Vowel-Sounds 


SHORT 

LOKG 

a 

as 

in 

artistic 

5 

as 

in 

art 

a 

u 

ii 

at 

a 

li 

air 

e 

li 

a 

met 

e 

11 

prey 

i 

il 

a 

it 

i 

11 

marine 

0 

u 

a 

poetic 

6 

li 

note 

e 

a 

a 

not 

e 

ii 

nor 

u 

a 

a 

put 

u 

li 

mood 

u 

11 

a 

up 

u 

i( 

urge 

Old  Erroneous 

Pairing 

SHORT 

LONG 

a 

as 

in 

at 

a 

ale 

e 

n 

ii 

met 

e 

eve 

i 

it 

ii 

it 

i 

ice 

6 

l( 

ii 

not 

6 

note 

u 

li 

ii 

put 

u 

mute 

last  decade  by  some  of  the  expert  orthoepists  of  the  coun- 
try toward  securing  the  establishment  of  a  standard  system 
for  indicating  pronunciation;  and  these  efforts  have  re- 
sulted in  the  adoption  of  the  Scientific  Alphabet.  This 
system  has  been  successfully  applied,  and  because  of  its 


276  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

successful  application  has  met  with  some  opposition  from 
the  very  sources  which  it  was  designed  to  assist. 

The  first  step  in  teaching  English  pronunciation  is  to 
train  in  the  ability  to  detect  and  produce  each  of  the  sounds 
that  make  up  the  spoken  language;  let  this  be  done  thor- 
oughly, and  the  pupil  has  taken  a  long  step  toward  be- 
coming a  good  reader,  a  good  speller,  and,  incidentally,  a 
good  talker. 

As  there  is  no  definite  relation  between  the  name  of  a 
letter  and  its  sound  in  the  ordinary  spelling,  the  common 
alphabet  name  should  not  be  the  first  taught  to  a  child 
learning  to  read,  as  this  leads  to  confusion,  for  a  letter  in 
the  common  alphabet  often  represents  many  sounds.  This 
confusion  of  symbols  and  sounds  in  the  common  alphabet 
is  an  appalling  difficulty  for  children.  At  the  very  best,  to 
learn  to  read  is  an  enormous  draft  on  the  energy  of  the 
child.  For  simplicity,  exactness,  and  thoroughness  in  train- 
ing the  pupils  to  pronounce  the  sounds  of  the  language,  no 
system  of  diacritics  compares  for  a  moment  with  the  Scien- 
tific Alphabet. 

There  are  many  advantages  in  letting  a  pupil  learn  first 
the  fixed  symbols  that  represent  the  sounds  in  spoken 
English.  After  the  pupil  has  mastered  the  sounds  of  the 
Scientific  Alphabet,  and  fixed  their  unvarying  symbols  in 
his  mind,  he  can  then  without  confusion  proceed  to  master 
the  hundreds  of  equivalents  of  these  symbols  which  are 
to  be  found  in  the  common  spelling.  For  example,  in  the 
Scientific  Alphabet  6  is  the  unvarying  symbol  for  the  sound 
of  the  vowel  o  in  "no";  in  the  common  spelling  the  sound 
is  expressed  by  many  symbols  and  combinations  of  symbols. 

The  variations  and  vagaries  of  the  common  spellings  are 
so  confusing  even  to  grown  people  that  a  child  should  not 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING      277 

be  taught  them  until  after  he  has  fixed  in  his  mind  the 
actual  sounds  that  make  up  English  words  and  has  tied 
these  to  unvarying  symbols — one  sound  for  each  symbol, 
one  symbol  for  each  sound.  The  mind  of  the  child  then  has 
something  fixed  to  which  to  tie.  Any  other  system  is 
needless  labor  for  little  folks,  and  is  in  addition  a  waste  of 
time. 

When  the  child  has  mastered  the  signs  and  sounds  that 
make  up  the  Scientific  Alphabet  it  has  mastered  practically 
and  scientifically  the  essential  elements  of  pronunciation. 
The  general  introduction  of  teaching  of  this  kind  in  the 
schools  of  our  country  would  prove  the  death-knell  of 
provincial  pronunciation — of  dialects. 

In  addition  to  the  simplicity  and  accuracy  with  which 
the  Scientific  Alphabet  represents  pronunciation,  it  famil- 
iarizes the  rising  generation  with  the  forms  which  words 
would  have  were  our  language  spelled  phonetically ;  that  is, 
scientifically,  and  following  the  line  of  least  resistance,  it 
will  ultimately  prove  a  powerful  factor  in  the  simplification 
of  spelling.  The  pupils  trained  in  such  an  alphabet  will 
not  be  opposed,  when  full-grown,  to  any  step  that  it  may 
later  be  found  necessary  to  take  to  simplify  spelling. 

Any  foreigner  studying  the  English  language  will  find 
the  Scientific-Alphabet  system  of  respelling  for  pronun- 
ciation of  greater  help  in  acquiring  a  correct  pronunciation 
than  any  other  system  yet  devised,  because  of  its  simplicity 
and  of  its  use  of  fixed  symbols. 

"The  great  merit  of  this  system,"  says  the  "School  Jour- 
nal" of  the  Scientific  Alphabet,  "lies  in  the  fact  that  it  re- 
quires fewer  characters.  Its  main  feature  is  that  each  of 
its  letters  is  required  to  do  service  for  one  sound  only. 
According  to  its  principles,  each  vowel-letter  represents  one 


278  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

distinct  elementary  sound  in  its  two  forms,  as  long  and 
short ;  each  consonant-letter  represents  only  one  sound,  and 
diphthongs  are  represented  by  their  vowel-letters.  Three 
new  vowel-letters  are  introduced  for  three  distinct  ele- 
mentary sounds  never  before  adequately  represented  by 
the  vowel-letters  of  the  ordinary  alphabet."  These  three 
new  vowel-letters  are  a,  for  the  sound  of  a  in  "sofa";  e, 
for  the  sound  of  o  in  "not,"  and  u,  for  the  sound  of  u  in 
"but."  Each  of  these  letters  is  distinct  in  itself;  the  dif- 
ference between  any  two  may  be  readily  distinguished.  At 
first  they  may  appear  unfamiliar,  but  are  easily  assimilated, 
as  their  form  closely  resembles  existing  letters,  and  in  any 
system  of  phonetic  respelling  some  modification  of  the  forms 
a,  0,  and  u  must  be  made  to  distinguish  the  adapted  use  of 
those  letters  from  their  regular  use.  The  Hon.  C.  J.  Bax- 
ter, State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of  New 
Jersey,  said:  "I  find  it  [the  Scientific  Alphabet]  grows 
upon  me  with  use,  and  that  I  am  learning  a  new  system  of 
diacritics  without  conscious  effort."  In  other  systems  of 
notation  the  letters  a,  o,  and  u  when  used  to  perform  the 
functions  of  the  missing  vowel-letters  are  modified  by  dia- 
critics. The  Scientific  Alphabet  dispenses  with  these  dia- 
critics by  using  new  letters  in  preference  to  old  letters 
modified  by  confusing  signs,  but  these  new  letters  are 
already  familiar  to  the  eye.  The  first  is  simply  the  ordi- 
nary "a"  printed  in  italic — a ;  the  second,  the  common  "o" 
with  a  line  drawn  through  it — e ;  the  third,  the  capital  let- 
ter *'u"  printed  the  size  of  the  lower-case  letter.  There  is 
an  advantage  in  the  adoption  of  the  symbol  u  which  may 
not  be  observed  by  some  readers;  it  is  that  in  European 
languages  generally  the  natural  and  prevalent  long  u 
sound  is  that  which  appears  in  "rule."    The  promulgators 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     279 

of  the  Scientific  Alphabet  chose  a  new  symbol  to  indicate  a 
distinct  sound  because  they  built  on  the  basic  principles 
of  language  in  general  rather  than  upon  our  somewhat  ir- 
regular English,  Professor  E.  F.  Jackson,  of  Washington 
University,  St.  Louis,  said  that  the  diacritical  marks  used 
in  the  Standard  *  *  appear  to  me  to  be  reasonable  and  scien- 
tific, and  much  better  adapted  for  use  in  a  school  where 
Latin,  Greek,  French,  and  German  are  taught  than  the 
former  diacritics." 

As  a  large  number  of  the  unaccented  vowels  in  English 
words  have  two  pronunciations — equally  good  each  in  its 
own  time  and  freely  used  by  the  same  persons — the  one 
formal,  distinct,  and  pedagogical,  the  other  colloquial,  the 
Scientific  Alphabet  adopted  the  breve  (w)  and  the  reverse 
breve  {^)  for  the  purpose  of  designating  these  pronun- 
ciations. The  vowel-weakenings  are  classified  in  the  Scien- 
tific-Alphabet system  as  invariably  trending  either  toward 
short  i  or  short  u.  The  Websterian  system  failed  to  in- 
dicate this  trend.  In  the  Scientific-Alphabet  system  the 
breve  or  reverse  breve  beneath  a  vowel  is  the  general  sign 
of  colloquial  weakness.  Thus,  in  ''mountain"  the  weaken- 
ing trends  toward  short  i,  while  in  ''ever"  it  trends  toward 
short  w;  that  is,  the  regular  breve  denotes  the  i  tendency 
while  the  reverse  breve  denotes  the  u  tendency.  The  breve 
direct  or  inverted  is  the  only  diacritic  ever  placed  below  a 
vowel  in  the  Scientific  Alphabet.  While  the  breve  and 
inverted  breve  are  retained  in  the  Revised  Scientific  Alpha- 
bet, recommended  for  use  by  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation's special  committee,  they  are  optional,  the  symbols 
1  and  8  being  suggested  as  alternatives.  Messrs.  Isaac 
Pitman  &  Sons,  the  well-known  shorthand  and  educational 
publishers  of  New  York,  "deem  the  Scientific  Alphabet, 


280  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

which  is  used  to  indicate  pronunciation  in  the  Standard 
Dictionary,  the  most  accurate  and  simple  used  in  any 
dictionary. ' ' 

The  efforts  that  have  been  made  during  the  past  few  years 
to  introduce  the  Scientific- Alphabet  system,  which  so  com- 
petent an  authority  as  the  * '  School  Journal ' '  has  acknowl- 
edged to  be  "  a  triumphant  creation  of  philological  genius, ' ' 
and  which  no  less  eminent  an  expert  than  Dr.  Charles  P. 
G.  Scott  has  pronounced  to  be  "  a  notation  based  on  historic 
and  scientific  principles,"  have  been  met  here  and  there 
with  sullen  opposition  based  on  false  premises;  as,  that  it 
does  not  conform  to  the  system  adopted  by  all  the  text- 
books issued  for  the  purpose  of  imparting  primary  educa- 
tion by  school-book  houses  which  have,  directly  or  in- 
directly, constantly  stirred  up  hostility  to  the  adoption  of 
the  Scientific  Alphabet  because  no  monopoly  can  be  based 
on  this  alphabet.  The  falsity  of  this  premise  is  best  shown 
by  comparison.  When  the  systems  adopted  by  these  text- 
books are  compared  with  the  so-called  system  of  diacritics 
fostered  as  the  Websterian  system,  the  former  vary  from 
it  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  absolutely  different,  as  the 
following  comparison  will  show.  In  text-books  pronuncia- 
tion is  usually  indicated  by  the  marking  of  letters  as  they 
occur  in  the  words  proper,  and  in  dictionaries  by  repro- 
ducing the  given  words  spelled  phonetically.  These  two 
systems  are  exemplified  on  page  281. 

Comparison  of  the  words  on  the  next  page  shows  that  the 
pupil  who  has  mastered  the  text-book  style  has  many  things 
to  forget  and  many  to  learn  before  he  can  become  proficient 
in  the  art  of  reading  the  Websterian  system  of  indicating 
pronunciation.  The  assumption  that  a  pupil  who  has 
learned  the  text-book  system  thereby  commands  the  Web- 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     281 


sterian  system  is  not  correct.  The  examination  of  a  num- 
ber of  school-books  will  show  many  variations  from  the 
so-called  Websterian  system  of  diacritical  markings.  In 
such  a  recent  examination  of  fifteen  text-books  it  was 
found  that  the  Websterian  system  had  not  been  closely 
followed.  For  example:  in  a  list  of  twenty  words  exam- 
ined the  text-books  used  28  diacritics  to  indicate  sound, 
yet  had  the  "Websterian  system  been  applied  to  these  very 


Ordinary  Spelling. 

Text-boolc  Style, 
without  Respelllng. 

Dictionary  Style, 
with  Respelllng. 

civic 

9lv'I« 

siv'lk 

was 

was 

w6z 

obey 

6-bey' 

i5-ba' 

heir 

heir 

ar 

police 

p6-ll9e' 

pS-les' 

do 

da 

dot) 

wolf 

W9lf 

wulf 

eon 

B6n 

stin 

myrrh 

myrrh 

mSr 

gage 

gage 

gaj 

chorus 

eho'riis 

ko'riis 

edge 

edge 

Sj 

exist 

Sj-lst' 

ggz-Ist' 

words  as  many  as  38  diacritics  would  have  been  necessary. 
A  tabulation  of  these  words  produced  the  surprizing  re- 
sult that  in  applying  the  Scientific- Alphabet  system  to  these 
same  words  it  was  necessary  to  use  only  19  diacritics.  Fur- 
ther, it  was  found  that  the  Websterian  system,  as  repre- 
sented by  the  Unabridged  and  International  dictionaries, 
was  not  strictly  followed  by  the  text-books,  as  they  adopted 
their  own  distinctive  signs  and  symbols — signs  and  symbols 
not  used  by  Webster. 


282  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  difference  existing  between  the  systems  adopted  by 
the  text-books  and  the  dictionaries  must  necessarily  drive 
the  students  of  orthoepy  to  consult  the  guide  to  pronun- 
ciation which  accompanies  every  dictionary,  where  the 
powers  of  the  different  letters  are  explained.  Therefore, 
inasmuch  as  text-books  and  dictionaries  differ,  consultation 
becomes  imperative,  and  a  system  that  uses  only  63  sound- 
signs  and  is  based  upon  truly  scientific  principles  should 
be  found  more  acceptable  than  one  which  employs  as  many 
as  85  and  which  is  purely  arbitrary  in  character.  Professor 
C.  M.  Young,  of  the  University  of  South  Dakota,  speaking 
of  the  Standard  Dictionary,  says  that  he  has  ' '  no  difficulty 
with  its  diacritical  markings,  and  it  occurs  to  me  that 
people  who  are  not  able  to  use  its  diacritical  markings  are 
not  able  to  use  a  dictionary  intelligently." 

A  phonetic  system  is  fatally  defective  which  employs  a 
given  symbol  for  more  than  one  sound  or  which  expresses 
one  sound  by  more  than  one  symbol.  This  is  a  common 
error  in  all  systems  other  than  the  Scientific  Alphabet. 
For  example,  take  this  from  the  Websterian  notation:  It 
uses  "  a  "  with  a  straight  mark  over  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in 
*'hate";  with  a  curve  over  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in  "hat"; 
with  a  right-angled  mark  over  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in 
''senate";  with  a  circumflex  over  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in 
"care";  with  a  dot  over  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in  "ask"; 
with  two  dots  over  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in  "  arm ' ' ;  with  a 
dot  under  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in  "wad";  with  two  dots 
under  it  for  the  sound  of  a  in  "  all, ' '  and  in  the  italic  form 
for  the  sound  of  a  in  "final."  Besides  doing  this,  it  adds 
to  the  confusion  which  is  likely  to  arise  from  the  using  of 
one  letter  nine  times  by  indicating  vowel-sounds  in  two 
different  ways  by  employing  "  a "  with  a  line  over  it  and  an 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     283 

"e"  with  a  line  under  it  to  indicate  the  sound  of  the  letter 
e  as  expressed  in  Continental  pronunciation.  Other  com- 
binations to  indicate  the  same  sound  are  a  and  e  and  6  and  a. 
Further,  this  system  of  notation  uses  seven  different  kinds  of 
e^s,  five  different  kinds  of  i's,  seven  different  kinds  of  o^s, 
and  six  different  kinds  of  u's.  It  indicates  a  given  sound 
by  several  different  letters  and  makes  a  given  letter  repre- 
sent several  different  sounds.  Any  pronouncing  system  of 
notation  is  fundamentally  wrong  if  it  attempts  to  build  a 
system  of  vocal  sound  notation  by  bringing  the  sounds  of 
the  language  to  the  letters  rather  than  the  letters  to  the 
sounds.  The  vocal  elements  of  speech  are  fixed  in  all  lan- 
guages, and  no  system  of  phonetic  indication  can  be  prac- 
ticable which  fails  to  recognize  these  fixed  sounds  and  to 
build  upon  the  basis  of  one  symbol  for  each  sound  and  one 
sound  for  each  symbol,  as  is  done  by  the  Scientific  Alphabet. 
The  necessity  of  adopting  a  uniform  system  for  respelling 
being  apparent,  the  National  Education  Association's 
special  committee  began  its  investigation  and  later  reported 
on  the  subject.  The  committee's  recommendation,  formu- 
lated in  the  report,  called  for  31  changes  in  the  Websterian 
system  of  notation  as  against  14  modifications  in  the  Scien- 
tific Alphabet. 

The  advantages  to  be  derived  from  such  a  system  of  re- 
spelling  for  pronunciation  as  the  Scientific  Alphabet  are  so 
important  to  the  scholastic  training  of  the  youth  of  America 
that  the  late  William  T.  Harris,  at  one  time  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education,  declared  that  by  practical 
test  school  children  who  were  taught  by  such  a  system 
proved  to  be  more  rapid  in  the  acquiring  of  an  accurate 
pronunciation  and  more  correct  in  spelling  the  words 
brought  to  their  notice.     Experiments  made  in  different 


284  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

parts  of  the  United  States  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  time 
required  for  children  to  learn  to  read  the  English  language 
when  printed  in  a  phonetic  alphabet  have  shown  that  about 
two  years  may  be  saved  in  learning  to  read  by  this  method ; 
such  an  alphabet  was  prepared  and  promulgated,  after  care- 
ful investigation,  by  the  American  Philological  Association, 
and  was  introduced  in  respelling  for  pronunciation  in  the 
Standard  Dictionary  by  its  Editor,  Dr.  Isaac  K.  Funk. 

There  is  much  independent  testimony  of  the  value  of 
the  Scientific  Alphabet  as  an  aid  to  exact  pronunciation. 
"The  Atlantic  Monthly"  declares  that  it  is  "the  simplest 
and  best  method  of  phonetic  representation  yet  devised,  and 
one  distinctly  better  than  that  used  by  the  Century  [Dic- 
tionary], which  is  more  difficult  to  be  understood  by  the 
people. "  "  The  Scientific  American ' '  pronounces  the  Scien- 
tific -Alphabet  as  "an  immense  advance  over  the  arbitrary 
system  used  in  so  many  other  works. "  "  The  School  Jour- 
nal" says  the  Scientific  Alphabet  "furnishes  a  basis  of  ac- 
curately representing  all  sounds  used  in  the  English  lan- 
guage with  the  fewest  possible  characters.  Our  readers 
will  find  it  of  great  advantage  to  study  carefully  this  trium- 
phant creation  of  philological  genius.  We  are  convinced 
that  they  will  readily  grasp  the  niceties  of  pronunciation 
which  it  affords,  and  with  it  they  will  achieve  much  more 
satisfactory  results  with  far  less  exertion  than  by  adhering 
to  the  illogical  and  inconsistent  systems  commonly  in 
vogue.  By  adding  it  to  their  methods  of  imparting  in- 
struction and  by  applying  it  systematically  they  will  attain 
an  exactness  of  diction  that  will  be  the  envy  of  their  asso- 
ciates and  the  admiration  of  all." 

Let  it  be  understood  that  the  Scientific  Alphabet  has 
never  been  copyrighted;  it  is  open  to  all,  hence  it  is  free 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     285 

from  all  taint  of  monopoly.  It  is,  in  fact,  far  more  easy  to 
understand  and  to  remember  than  the  complicated  and 
illogical  systems  of  diacritical  markings  used  in  other  dic- 
tionaries ;  it  is  far  more  exact,  and  is  absolutely  consistent. 
The  Scientific  Alphabet  is  more  simple  and  more  accurate  in 
every  way  than  any  other  system  used  for  indicating  pro- 
nanciation  (1)  as  it  requires  fewer  characters — its  three 
new  vowels,  which  are  easily  recognized,  doing  away  with 
about  three-fourths  of  the  diacritics  required  by  other  sys- 
tems; (2)  as  it  involves  far  fewer  changes  from  the  or- 
dinary spelling  than  any  other  system. 

Moreover,  it  furnishes  a  basis  for  accurately  representing 
all  the  sounds  used  in  the  English  language,  with  the  fewest 
possible  characters,  and  indicates  only  such  changes  in 
spelling  as  are  in  the  direction  of  logical  and  scientific 
spelling  reform.  No  two  revisions  of  the  Webster  Dic- 
tionary employ  the  same  system  of  diacritics,  and  the  same 
objection  applies  to  the  Worcester  Dictionary. 

What  need  was  there  for  the  alphabet  recommended  by 
the  National  Education  Association's  Committee?  The 
need  for  an  alphabet  that  would  adjust  the  differences 
existing  between  the  systems  adopted  by  the  text-books  and 
those  used  by  the  dictionaries  and  encyclopedias.  Every 
phonetic  system  that  employs  a  given  symbol  for  more  than 
one  sound,  or  which  expresses  one  sound  by  more  than  one 
symbol  is  fatally  defective.  When  the  members  of  the 
National  Education  Association's  Committee,  and  those  of 
the  Committees  of  the  other  learned  bodies  associated  with 
them,  began  their  labors  they  were  confronted  with  the 
conditions  that  have  been  summarized  in  the  table  printed 
on  the  following  page. 


286  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

The  soand  of  a  in  about  waa  rendered  by  six  eymbols — a,  a,  §,  a,  a,  a. 

The  sound  of  a  in  at  was  rendered  by  three  symbols — &,  d,  and  a. 

The  sound  of  c  in  cat  was  rendered  by  three  symbols — «,  ch  (chorus),  and  k. 

The  sound  of  e  in  prey  was  rendered  hy  four  symbols — S,  a,  e,  and  S. 

The  sound  of  i  In  tin  was  rendered  hy  four  symbols — I,  »,  I,  and  f. 

The  sound  of  i  in  marine  was  rendered  by  seven  symbols — 8.  2,  6,  6,  !,  ee,  and  1. 

The  sound  of  o  in  not  was  rendered  by  six  symbols — o,  5,  o,  6,  a,  and  &. 

The  sound  of  o  in  nor  was  rendered  by  seven  symbols — 6,  p,  8,  a,  S,  aw,  and  aw. 

The  sound  of  u  in  push  was  rendered  by  eight  symbols— u,  u,  11,  h,  fl,  p,  do,  and  OO' 

The  sound  of  u  in  rude  was  rendered  by  ten  symbols—  fi,  u,  u,  u,  fl,  6,  6,  6,  Q,  and  oo* 

The  sound  of  u  in  hut  was  rendered  by  seven  symbols — u,  u,  u,  H,  6,  6,  and  6. 

The  sound  of  u  in  urn  was  rendered  by  eight  symbols — §,  e,  I,  I,  5,  u,  u,  and  y. 

The  sound  of  ai  in  aisle  was  rendered  by  seven  symbols — ai,  I,  I,  i,  I,  f,  and  f. 

The  sound  of  an  in  umlaut  was  rendered  by  six  symbols — au,  ou,  ou,  ow,  aw,  and  ow. 

The  eonnd  of  oi  in  oil  was  rendered  by  six  symbols- oi,  ei,  oi,  oy,  oy,  and  oy. 

In  Other  words,  the  National  Education  Association  Com- 
mittee and  the  Joint  Committees  that  worked  with  it  faced 
the  problem  of  reducing  to  48  signs  the  92  phonetic  symbols 
in  use  to  indicate  vowel  sounds  in  dictionaries  and  text- 
books, and  still  in  use  to-day.  Out  of  this  disorderly  Babel 
of  sound-symbols  the  Committee  brought  an  orderly  system 
of  sound  notation,  based  upon  phonetic  principles  scien- 
tifically correct  and  recommended  by  the  leading  phon- 
ologists  of  the  world. 

Notwithstanding  the  erroneous  interpretations  that  have 
been  put  upon  it  in  certain  quarters,  this  alphabet  remains 
the  most  practical  alphabet  for  the  respelling  of  words  for 
pronunciation  yet  devised.  Why  ?  Because  it  accomplishes 
the  purpose  of  its  projectors — to  bring  order  out  of  chaos. 
It  is  the  ripe  fruitage  of  the  joint  labors  of  committees 
appointed  by  America 's  leading  educational  institutions : 

(1)  The  American  Philological  Association,  founded  in 
1869  for  the  advancement  and  diffusion  of  philological 
knowledge. 

(2)  The  National  Education  Association,  founded  in  1857 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     287 

for  the  promotion  of  national  educational  aims  and  investi- 
gations, which  have  made  the  association  the  most  important 
educational  organization  in  the  world. 

(3)  The  Modern  Language  Association,  founded  in  1886, 
for  the  advancement  of  the  study  of  modern  languages  and 
their  literatures. 

The  total  number  of  members  in  these  three  associations 
is  14,000.  In  this  vast  body  may  be  found  the  names  of 
every  scholar  of  national  or  international  reputation,  and 
every  expert  in  phonetics  which  the  American  continent 
has  produced. 

The  alphabet  was  devised  by  such  men  as  Calvin  Thomas, 
George  Hempl,  Charles  P.  G.  Scott,  0.  F.  Emerson,  E.  O. 
Vaile,  E.  S.  Sheldon,  James  W.  Bright,  C.  H.  Grandgent, 
Raymond  Weeks,  T.  M.  Balliet,  H.  H.  Seerley,  Melvil 
Dewey,  William  H.  Maxwell.  This  body  of  experts  had 
also  the  advantage  of  the  researches  and  labors  of  such 
specialists  in  phonetics  as  the  late  Francis  A.  March,  Sr., 
the  late  Professor  W.  D.  Whitney,  the  late  S.  Haldeman, 
and  the  late  William  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner, 
and  others. 

It  is,  perhaps,  owing  to  the  recommendation  of  the 
National  Education  Association  Committee  already  re- 
ferred to  that  its  alphabet  has  met  with  opposition.  But  no 
fitting  substitute  has  been  offered.  The  opponents  of  this 
alphabet  know  that  the  alphabet  used  for  respelling  wor*ls 
in  one  of  the  recently  published  dictionaries,  with  64  sym- 
bols disfigured  with  dots  and  dashes,  curves  and  curlicues, 
and  in  which  not  one  vowel  is  used  without  some  diacritical 
mark,  is  not  a  scholarly  substitute  for  the  National  Educa- 
tion Association  alphabet  of  48  characters,  of  which  36  bear 
no  diacritical  mark,  in  which  only  one  diacritical  mark  (the 


288 


ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 


macron)  is  used — an  alphabet  which  was  devised  by  the 
foremost  American  phonetists.  Instead  of  offering  a  sub- 
stitute the  question  asked  is  whether  this  alphabet  ' '  is  easy 
to  learn."     Which  is  easier  to  memorize — an  alphabet  of 


RECOMMENDED  ALPHABET 


Letter 

Name 

Keyword 

Letter 

Name 

Key-word 

a 

art 

e 

nor 

a 

artistic 

e 

not 

ai 

aisle,  find 

ei 

oil 

au 

out,  thou 

P 

pi 

pit 

a 

air 

r 

er  (or  dr) 

rat 

a 

at 

S 

es 

set 

b 

'  bi 
dhi 

be 
chew 

t 

esh 
ti 

ship 
ten 

d 

di 

day 

ft 

eft 

thin 

e 

prey 

th 

eft 

that 

e 

men 

u 

mood 

f 

ef 

fee 

u 

push 

S 
h 

hi 

go 

he 

0 
u 

urge 
hut 

marine 

V 

ev  (or  vi) 

vat 

tin 

w 

wi 

win 

iu 

mute 

y 

yi 

yes 

J 

ji  (or  je) 

jaw 

z 

ez  (or  zi) 

zest 

k 
I 

ra 
n 

13 
0 
0 

ki  (or  ke) 

el 

em 

en 

ei) 

kin 

let 

met 

net 

sing 

note 

poetic 

3 
a 

8 

I 

es 

azure 

for  a  in 
("  a" 
i"   e" 

("   i  " 
1  "    e  " 

ask 

about 

over 

candid 

added 

64  symbols,  each  vowel  of  which  is  marked  with  some  dot 
or  dash,  some  curve  or  curlicue,  or,  as  is  sometimes  the  case 
— both ;  or  an  alphabet  of  48  symbols  of  which  only  8  are 
marked  with  a  macron  ?    Which  is  easier  to  learn,  an  alpha- 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     289 

bet  based  upon  the  sound  phonetic  principles  of  one  sound 
for  each  symbol,  or  an  arbitrary  system  in  which  several 
symbols  are  used  for  the  same  sound? 

Whether  an  alphabet  designed  to  respell  for  pronuncia- 
tion is  easy  to  learn  depends  as  much  upon  the  ease  with 
which  its  symbols  may  be  memorized  as  upon  its  being 
based  on  sound  phonetic  principles — one  symbol  one 
sound  invariably  throughout  the  alphabet.  This  feature 
the  National  Education  Association  alphabet  possesses,  and 
it  is  the  only  alphabet  yet  devised  that  does  possess  it.  The 
opponents  of  this  alphabet  have  declared  that  "no  reform 
alphabet  of  any  kind  has  hitherto  met  with  success,  and  this 
raises  the  presumption  that  any  similar  alphabet,  still  un- 
tried, will  prove  equally  unsuccessful. ' '  None  but  the  veriest 
tyro  in  phonetics  would  make  such  a  statement.  The  fact  is 
that  (1)  the  alphabet  of  the  American  Philological  Associa- 
tion has  been  in  active  use  during  the  past  twenty  years 
and  has  been  found  to  answer  its  purposes  very  well;  (2) 
the  alphabet  devised  by  Paul  Passy,  and  declared  by  the 
opposition  to  be  "  the  only  phonetic  alphabet  that  can  claim 
international  standing, ' '  has  been  in  use  by  the  Association 
Phonetique  Internationale,  with  satisfaction  to  all  con- 
cerned, almost  from  its  introduction.  Therefore,  it  is  in- 
correct to  say  that  no  reform  alphabet  has  met  with  suc- 
cess. Nothing  is  or  can  be  proved  a  failure  until  tried. 
It  was  the  very  failure  of  Noah  "Webster's  system  for  ex- 
pressing sound  that  determined  the  subsequent  editors  of 
the  dictionary  that  bears  his  name  to  respell  words  for 
pronunciation. 

We  have  been  told  that  "the  subject  of  an  alphabet  for 
respelling  for  pronunciation  is  very  complex."  It  is  be- 
cause of  this  very  complex  character  that  the  subject  was 


290  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

referred  for  consideration  to  a  body  of  expert  phonetists 
and  not  left  to  amateur  philologists  to  determine.  The 
members  of  the  Joint  Committee  who  formulated  the  alpha- 
bet as  scholars  in  phonetics  of  international  repute,  are,  of 
all  men,  the  best  capable  to  deal  with  so  complex  a  matter. 
The  labor  of  the  National  Education  Association  Commit- 
tee, as  expressed  in  its  report  issued  July  6,  1910,  was  "to 
prepare  and  recommend  a  key  alphabet  for  uniform  use  in 
indicating  pronunciation  in  all  our  cyclopedias,  dictionaries, 
gazetteers,  text-  and  reference-books" — so  far  but  no  far- 
ther was  the  Committee  to  go,  nor  has  it  done  so.  Oppo- 
nents of  the  National  Education  Association  Alphabet 
claim  that  if  the  alphabet  is  adopted  "every  dictionary, 
every  card  catalogue,  now  so  generally  used  in  libraries, 
would  have  to  be  remade, ' '  They  cite  as  an  illustration  of 
the  application  of  this  alphabet  that  all  words  whose  initial 
letter  is  "i,"  having  the  "so-called  long  i  sound,"  would 
have  to  be  indexed  under  "a"  because  the  sound  is  repre- 
sented by  the  National  Education  Association  alphabet  by  a 
diphthongal  symbol  "ai."  Also  that  the  sound  of  "u"  in 
mute,  being  represented  by  the  diphthongal  symbol  "iu," 
all  words  beginning  with  this  symbol  must  be  transferred  to 
"i"  and  indexed  under  it.  As  there  are  very  few,  if  there 
are  any,  libraries  in  which  card  indexes  are  used  to  indicate 
the  pronunciation  of  the  titles  of  books,  this  claim  is  absurd. 
"We  have  been  told  that  six  of  the  symbols  in  the  National 
Education  Association  alphabet  are  "consonants  replacing 
our  present  symbols,"  which  "is  undesirable  since  the 
sounds  to  be  represented  are  clearly  and  adequately  shown 
by  our  present  letters."  This  is  not  so — our  present  let- 
ters do  not  show  the  diphthongal  characters  of  ch,  sh,  ng, 
th  and  zh.     The  Committee  of  the  National   Education 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     291 

Association  recommended  the  use  of  ties  in  certain  of  these 
symbols  purposely  to  bring  out  this  very  diphthongal 
character.  The  amateur  philologist,  who  declares  these  un- 
desirable, even  though  he  may  have  sat  at  the  feet  of  the 
great  professors  of  languages  in  the  universities  of  Europe, 
simply  shows  colossal  ignorance  as  regards  these  digraphs. 
Every  one  of  the  great  dictionaries  has  decided  that  the 
sound  of  these  letters  is  diphthongal.  The  late  Dr.  William 
T.  Harris,  in  the  latest  Webster,  said  on  this  subject  of  ch 
(p.  xlix)  :  "The  most  frequent  sound  is  diphthongal, 
and  is  approximately  described  tsh.  Most  phonetists 
analyze  this  sound  as  a  combination  of  t  and  sh :  they  blend 
into  a  composite  sound.  Ch  has  this  diphthongal  sound  in 
all  native  English  words."  This  being  the  case,  let  us  be 
guided  by  the  expert  phonetist.  Incidentally,  let  us  re- 
member that  in  the  Websterian  system  of  notation  the 
following  symbols,  with  the  addition  of  "a  diacritic  tick 
or  tie"  and  other  embellishments,  are  used:  du^  r).,  65,  oo, 
th,  t4^  and  the  following  also,  but  without  the  trimmings, 
gz,  hw,  ks,  kw,  ng,  th  and  zh.  Well  may  one  believe  that 
*  *  the  addition  of  the  diacritic  tick  or  tie  occasions  needless 
trouble"  in  such  a  system  as  this,  in  which  six  symbols  are 
"ticked  or  tied"  and  seven  are  not!  Which  is  the  easier 
to  remember,  the  five  tied  symbols  of  the  National  Educa- 
tion Association  alphabet,  or  the  thirteen  mixed  symbols 
of  the  Websterian  system? 

To  persons  interested  in  phonetics  the  following  points 
concerning  the  National  Educational  Association's  alphabet 
may  prove  useful:  (1)  Of  the  letter  a  it  may  be  proper  to 
say  that  the  reason  for  assigning  a  to  the  vowel  in  artistic 
and  a  to  that  in  at  is  that  the  sound  in  at  is  much  more 
frequent  in  English  than  the  sound  in  artistic.    Some  plio- 


292  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

netists  have  preferred  a  as  in  artistic  and  ae  as  in  at,  but  a 
is  like  the  Greek,  Old  German,  and  Italian  type  for  the  a 
in  artistic  and  like  our  English  script  a,  and  is  used  by 
German  reformers  and  by  the  Association  Phonetique 
Internationale. 

(2)  Of  the  diphthong  ai,  which  it  has  been  said  * '  analyzes 
to  the  eye  a  sound  which  has  long  been  represented  as  a 
single  letter,"  and  "is  forcing  into  our  written  language 
an  uncalled-for  nicety  of  phonetic  analysis, ' '  the  New  Web- 
ster says  (pp.  li-lii)  that  "the  long  form  [of  i]  has  under- 
gone a  decided  change,  having  within  the  modern  English 
period  [from  about  1550  (p.  726)]  become  a  true  diph- 
thong, so  that  what  we  still  call  'long  i'  is  no  longer  a  sim- 
ple sound  but  one  composed  of  two  elements.  .  .  .  The 
quality  of  the  sound  ...  [of  the  initial  element]  varies 
all  the  way  from  a  {arm)  to  a  {man)  ;  the  final  element 
being  in  any  case  i  {ill).  In  America  the  initial  element  is 
most  often  ...  a  {art).^^  Judging  from  this  it  does  not 
seem  that  the  Committee  of  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation was  committing  a  great  crime  in  recommending  the 
adoption  of  ai  for  the  sound  erroneously  called  long  i,  and 
correcting  a  blunder  in  indicating  a  pronunciation  which 
even  the  editors  of  "Webster's  New  International  admit  has 
been  in  vogue  for  more  than  360  years! 

(3)  Of  the  diphthong  du,  as  in  sauerkraut:  it  may  be 
said  that  this  consists  of  a  glide  between  a  in  arm  and  u  in 
rule,  and  that  as  such  this  diphthong  represents  a  sound 
very  common  in  English,  which  in  some  systems  of  notation 
has  been  variously  rendered  as  ou,  ow,  etc.  (See  page  286.) 
The  recommendation  of  au  in  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation alphabet  is  the  result  of  the  Committee's  deter- 
mination to  adhere  to  the  principle  of  one  symbol  for  one 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNXIATION,  AND  READING      293 

sound  throughout  the  alphabet — and  of  representing  that 
sound  by  the  values  assigned  to  the  various  letters  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  three  Associations  concerned. 

(4)  Of  the  sound  of  a  in  fare:  it  may  be  said  that  the 
value  given  to  it  is  the  same  as  that  given  to  it  by  the 
American  Philological  Association  thirty-eight  years  ago 
when  trying  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos — a  value  that  has 
been  represented  variously  in  England  and  America  by  the 
symbols  a,  a,  a,  a,  a,  and  a,  and  one  which  to  this  day  is 
rendered  by  e  in  the  New  English  Dictionary,  edited  by  Sir 
James  A.  H.  Murray  at  Oxford  University,  and  in  Ameri- 
can text-books,  without  respelling,  by  e. 

(5)  Of  the  sound  of  e  in  they:  this  is  the  original  sound 
of  the  letter  as  indicated  in  Anglo-Saxon,  Old  English,  and 
Middle  English.  It  is  also  the  sound  indicated  in  Latin, 
French,  German,  Greek,  and  other  languages.  In  the 
National  Education  Association's  alphabet  it  is  represented 
by  the  symbol  e ;  in  other  systems  the  symbols  a  and  a  both 
do  duty  for  the  same  sound,  as  shown  below : 

crepe  fete  great  they 

krep  fet  gret  the 

or  or  or  or 

krap  fat  grat  tha 

(6)  Of  the  sound  of  i  in  marine-,  this,  the  New  Inter- 
national declares,  "was  originally  the  true  long  sound  of 
the  letter  i  ( e  of  eve ) . "  Then,  one  may  well  ask,  why  not  re- 
tain it?  In  addition,  it  is,  with  this  value,  one  of  the 
symbols  of  the  alphabet  recommended  by  the  American 
Philological  Association  in  1877,  and  by  the  Philological 
Society  of  England,  besides  having  the  same  value  in  Latin 
and  the  chief  languages  of  Europe. 


294  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

(7)  Of  the  sound  of  "u"  in  mute:  this  is  a  diphthong 
consisting  of  a  glide  from  "i"  in  marine  to  "u"  in  rule, 
which  will  enable  all  persons  using  the  key  to  correct  the 
mispronunciation  of  such  words  as  Tuesday  (toosday)  and 
New  York  {noo  york),  which  the  systems  formerly  in 
vogue  did  much  to  propagate.  This  is  simplifying  phonet- 
ics, not  complicating  them.  Besides,  these  letters  have  been 
given  this  value  by  both  the  American  Philological  Asso- 
ciation and  the  Philological  Society  of  England,  and  they 
have  been  in  use  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  are  em- 
ployed by  the  New  English  Dictionary  and  by  the  Standard 
Dictionary  in  their  systems  of  respelling  for  pronunciation. 

(8)  Of  the  sounds  of  "o"  in  not,  and  "o"  in  iior: 
these  have  the  recommendations  of  the  Joint  Committee 
to  support  them,  have  been  in  use  more  than  thirty  years ; 
were  recommended  by  the  American  Philological  Associa- 
tion in  1877  to  correct  the  confusion  caused  by  the  "Web- 
sterian  system  of  notation  which  used  6  and  a  for  the 
sounds  of  ''o"  and  "a"  in  not  and  what,  and  6  and  a  for 
the  sounds  of  "o"  and  "a"  in  7ior  and  all.  The  latest 
edition  in  the  "Webster  dictionary  series  has  corrected  this 
blunder  of  its  former  editors,  and  now  respells  what, 
hwot,  and  all,  61. 

(9)  Of  the  sound  of  "oi"  in  oil:  this  the  editors  of  the 
"Webster's  New  International  declare  (p.  liv.)  to  be  "a 
full  diphthong, ' '  and  on  page  xlx,  ' '  the  most  perfect  diph- 
thongs in  English  are  i  as  in  ice,  ou  as  in  out,  and  oi  as  in 
oil.'*  The  symbol  recommended  has  the  support  of  all 
three  of  the  learned  bodies  whose  members  formed  the 
Joint  Committee  which  devised  and  agreed  to  the  alphabet 
recommended  by  the  National  Education  Association  Com- 
mittee. 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     295 

(10)  Of  the  sound  of  "u"  in  rule,  which  method  of  re- 
spelling  for  pronunciation  is  the  simpler?  Let  the  reader 
determine  for  himself: 


bulletin 

crew 

cruel 

fulfil 

bulitin 

kru 

kruel 

fulfil 

or 

or 

or 

or 

booletin  kroo  krooel  foolfil 

(11)  The  symbols  "u"  as  in  push/'v"  as  in  urge,  and 
"\j"  as  in  hut  are  recommended  to  help  correct  the  con- 
fusion governing  these  sounds,  which  has  been  caused  by 
the  use  of  ten  symbols  (u,  oo,  o;  u,  oo,  o;  ii,  6;  u,  o)  for 
the  four  sounds  found  in  mood,  push,  urge,  and  hut  ad- 
vocated by  the  Websterian  system  of  notation. 

The  Committee  has  been  accused  of  recommending  an 
alphabet  that  subverts  owr  present  usage.  The  facts  are 
that  when  the  various  joint  committees  of  the  three  Asso- 
ciations got  together  their  members  knew  of  the  confusion 
that  existed  in  the  various  schemes  employed  for  phonetic 
notation.  They  set  about  to  devise,  and  have  devised,  a 
better  system  than  has  ever  before  been  offered  to  the  pub- 
lic, and  the  step  taken  is  one  toward  simplification  and 
progress. 

We  have  been  told  by  those  who  do  not  like  the  National 
Education  Association  alphabet  that  **it  is  not  necessary 
to  foist  upon  the  public,  or  force  upon  our  school  children, 
an  alphabet  of  forty  odd  symbols  instead  of  an  alphabet  of 
twenty-six,"  yet  the  editors  of  the  Webster  series  of  dic- 
tionaries have  for  years  been  forcing  on  their  public  an 
alphabet  of  85  sound-signs,  which  has  now  been  reduced 
to  64!  Is  it  easier  to  memorize  48  symbols  or  64  or  85? 
Certainly,  the  child  that  **has  no  time  to  indulge  in  pho- 


296  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

netic  niceties"  [  ?]  is  much  more  likely  to  take  to  the  48  sym- 
bols of  the  National  Education  Association  alphabet  than 
to  the  64  or  85  of  the  Websterian  systems. 

We  have  been  asked,  "Ought  there  to  be  any  organized 
attempt  by  the  National  Education  Association  to  force 
this  alphabet  upon  the  teachers  and  children  throughout 
the  country  ? "  No  such  attempt  was  ever  organized,  none 
of  the  kind  suggested  was  ever  made.  The  alphabet  is 
recommended  to  correct  an  abuse  that  has  existed  for  close 
on  a  century  of  time — an  abuse  which  grows  with  every 
year  that  passes  over  our  heads. 

The  situation  resolves  itself  into  this :  On  the  one  hand 
the  members  of  the  National  Education  Association  have 
offered  for  use  an  alphabet  endorsed  by  the  leading  phonet- 
ists  of  America,  by  three  leading  learned  societies,  and 
recommended  and  accepted  by  its  Board  of  Superinten- 
dence; on  the  other  hand,  those  opposed  to  it  have  issued 
anonymous  pamphlets  assailing  this  alphabet,  for  some 
reason  other  than  appears  on  the  surface. 

In  estimating  the  claims  to  recognition  of  any  alphabet 
for  respelling  words  to  indicate  pronunciation  several 
things  should  be  considered:  (1)  Who  devised  the  alpha- 
bet? (2)  Why  was  the  alphabet  devised?  (3)  What  are 
the  phonetic  qualities  of  the  alphabet?  (4)  Why  is  it  easy 
to  learn?  (5)  Why  should  it  be  applied  to  the  English 
language  ? 

(1)  Who  devised  the  alphabet? 

On  page  6  of  a  circular  entitled,  *'0n  the  Phonetic  Al- 
phabet Proposed  by  the  Committee  of  the  Department  of 
Superintendence,"  we  are  told  that  the  alphabet  "does 
not  meet  the  approval  of  leading  phoneticians,  men  who 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     297 

have  given  years  of  study  to  the  question. ' '  But  the  facts 
are  that  this  alphabet  was  devised  by  the  foremost  pho- 
netists  of  America  after  careful  investigations  extending 
over  thirty-five  years,  and  not  the  least  experienced  among 
them  was  Dr.  William  T.  Harris,  late  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Education  and  editor-in-chief  of  Webster's 
New  International  Dictionary,  so  that  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association  alphabet  is  approved  hy  leading  pho- 
neticians and  is  not  the  result  of  the  hasty  judgment 
which  some  persons  have  claimed. 

(2)  Why  was  the  alphabet  devised? 

To  assign  fixed  symbols  to  each  of  the  various  sounds  in 
English  so  that  every  sound  may  have  its  own  sign, 
and  every  sign  its  own  sound  throughout  the  alphabet,  and 
so  as  to  remedy  the  chaotic  condition  existing  through  the 
giving  of  unusual  values  to  many  symbols  ''by  the  pub- 
lishers of  dictionaries,  gazetteers,  encyclopedias,  and  text- 
books," bring  about  uniformity,  and  establish  an  un- 
changeable standard — one  that,  having  been  based  on  the 
recommendations  of  the  experts  of  past  generations,  has 
not  been  overturned  or  discredited  by  the  experts  of  the 
present  generation,  for  the  Joint  Committees  in  their  work 
preserved  that  done  by  the  experts  of  the  American  Philo- 
logical Association  in  1877. 

(3)  What  are  the  phonetic  qualities  of  the  alphabet? 

The  phonetic  qualities  of  this  alphabet  are  (a)  that  it 
uses  the  fundamental  vowel  letters  with  the  original  Latin 
values,  and  thus  (6)  brings  the  notation  into  accord  with 
international  phonetic  science. 


298  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

(4)  Why  is  it  easy  to  learn? 

Because  (a)  it  is  hased  on  a  system  and  is  not  the  result 
of  haphazard  work  in  which  more  than  one  symbol  is  used 
to  represent  the  same  sound.  Because  (6),  consisting  of 
48  symbols  it  contains  the  smallest  number  of  symbols 
needed  to  adequately  represent  the  sounds  which  are  now 
being  rendered  variously  by  85,  64,  and  63  symbols.  "The 
number  of  distinct  sounds  in  any  one  language  seldom  ex- 
ceeds fifty,"  said  the  late  A.  J.  Ellis,  "and  practically 
fewer  still  are  needed,  for  a  native  needs  only  a  hroad  hint 
of  the  sound  to  reproduce  it." 

Because  (c)  it  is  easy  to  write,  and,  as  the  late  A.  J.  Ellis 
said,  "any  signs  easy  to  write  and  distinct  to  read  without 
wearying  the  eye  will  suffice." 

(5)  Why  should  this  alphabet  be  applied  to  the  English 
language  1 

Because  (a)  it  was  devised  for  that  purpose  by  experts. 

Because  (&)  it  is  sufficiently  delicate  and  precise  for 
all  practical  purposes. 

Because  (c)  this  eclectic  key  is  the  most  happy  com- 
bination of  the  scholarly  and  the  practical  which  it  is  pos- 
sible to  evolve. 

On  page  1  of  the  circular  already  referred  to  one  is 
told,  "that  among  phoneticians  and  the  societies  interested 
in  phonetics,  as  well  as  in  text-books  and  reference  books, 
there  is  not  one  alphabet  in  general  use  for  indicating  pro- 
nunciation"— all  of  which  is  gratuitous  information  to 
which  attention  is  drawn  in  the  National  Education  As- 
sociation Committee's  various  reports,  but  the  National 
Education  Association  Committee  includes  dictionaries,  and 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     299 

it  is  to  remedy  this  very  condition  of  chaos  that  the  alphabet 
recommended  by  the  National  Education  Association  Com- 
mittee was  devised.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  this 
alphabet,  like  the  mill  that  does  not  grind  with  the  water 
that  is  past,  does  not  apply  to  any  books  that  have  already 
been  published,  so  that  in  no  way  can  it  affect  publica- 
tions that  have  preceded  its  recommendation.  On  page  2 
of  the  circular  one  is  told  "that  the  English  sounds  of  the 
vowels  have  shifted  far  away  from  the  Continental  vowel 
sounds,"  and  *'the  fact  remains  that  they  have  done  so, 
and  that  there  now  seems  to  he  no  practical  chance  that 
they  will  ever  he  moved  hack."  The  care  exercised  in  not 
underlining  one  word — fact — in  the  foregoing  may,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  critic,  save  the  situation.  But  what  are  the 
FACTS?  In  English  as  spoken  to-day  there  are  vowel- 
sounds  that  are  identical  with  the  so-called  "Continental 
vowel-sounds,"  as,  for  example,  in  the  following  words: 
arm,  crepe,  marine,  hotel,  rule.  Therefore,  English  vowel- 
sounds  and  Continental  vowel-sounds  have  not  shifted  far 
away,,  as  is  claimed.  Further,  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that, 
even  if  they  had,  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association  Committee  to  move  them  back — that 
Committee  was  empowered  to  report  on  and  recommend  an 
alphabet  for  use  in  the  respelling  of  words  in  dictionaries, 
gazetteers,  encyclopedias,  and  text-books — to  devise  an 
alphabet  that  shall  bring  sounds  into  harmony  with  usage 
as  recognized  by  the  leading  American  experts  in  phonetics. 
It  is  pointed  out  in  the  same  circular  that  the  late  A.  J, 
Ellis,  who  is  styled  * '  the  Father  of  English  Phonetics, ' '  and 
who  is  characterized  as  "one  of  the  most  eminent  of 
phoneticians,"  based  his  system  of  phonetic  symbols  on 
"the  common   English  sounds  of  the  letters."     This  is 


300  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

exactly  what  the  various  committees  in  joint  labor  have 
done.  But  the  results  are  different.  Ellis's  universal  alpha- 
bet contained  no  less  than  94  symbols,  and  his  ideal  inter- 
national alphabet  contained  243  symbols  made  up  of  192 
elements,  14  vowel-diphthongs,  4  consonant-diphthongs,  19 
modifiers,  and  11  other  signs,  Ellis's  alphabet,  as  the 
editors  of  "Webster's  New  International  Dictionary  describe 
it  (p.  xxxix),  is  "essentially  a  makeshift  scheme,  adapted 
solely  to  scientific,  not  popular,  use,"  and  others  who 
are  competent  judges  have  declared  it  "an  ingenious  sys- 
tem of  compound  letters,  but  the  complexity  of  the  writing 
forbids  its  universal  adoption." 

The  statement  made  on  page  1  "that  the  vowel  letters 
do  not  have  in  English  the  sounds  they  have  in  Continental 
language"  is  reiterated,  and  it  is  said  also  "that  many 
proposed  phonetic  alphabets  are  based  on  a  Continental 
vowel  scheme,"  and  "this  is  the  chief  reason  why  all  such 
alphabets  have  failed."  That  the  reiteration  belies  the 
facts  has  already  been  shown,  and  any  one  interested 
enough  to  investigate  the  subject  can  find  this  out  for 
himself.  That  such  alphabets  have  failed  is  untrue,  for 
the  values  of  the  Continental  vowel-sounds  are  the  basis 
of  all.  These  values  are  recognized  by  (1)  the  American 
Philological  Association;  (2)  the  Modern  Language  As- 
sociation; (3)  the  United  States  Board  on  Geographic 
Names;  (4)  the  National  Education  Association;  (5)  the 
Philological  Society  of  England,  and  (6)  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  of  England,  and  also  (7)  by  the 
Oxford  English  Dictionary,  and  (8)  form  the  basis  of  the 
"Guide  to  Pronunciation  of  Webster's  New  International 
Dictionary. ' ' 

See    Webster's    New    International    Dictionary,    page 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING      301 

xlvii — A.  112.  In  the  Greek  language  the  letter  alpha  (the 
Greek  letter  with  which  our  "a"  corresponds)  represented 
a  single  sound,  that  of  English  a  in  art.  .  .  .  This  was 
the  value  of  the  letter  a  in  Latin  also,  and  in  the  various 
alphabets  founded  upon  Latin  .  .  .  and  the  same  value  is 
mainly  retained  to  the  present  day  in  the  languages  of  Con- 
tinental Europe. 

See  page  xlix — E.  148.  In  the  classical  pronunciation 
of  Latin,  the  letter  e,  when  long,  represented  practically 
the  same  sound  as  English  a  (ale)  [or  as  "e"  as  in  they], 
and  when  short  the  same  sound  pronounced  more  quickly, 
or  a  wider  sound,  that  of  e  (end),  the  wide  correlative  of  a. 
In  most  of  the  languages  of  Europe  which  have  adopted  the 
Roman  alphabet  these  two  sounds  have  been  retained  for  the 
letter,  as  they  were  in  Anglo-Saxon,  or  Old  English,  and  in 
Middle  English. 

See  page  li — I.  178.  In  the  classical  pronunciation  of 
Latin,  the  letter  i,  when  long,  had  practically  the  same 
value  as  modern  English  e  (eve),  and  this  is  the  value 
which  it  still  has  in  the  chief  languages  of  Europe. 

For  the  discussions  of  the  values  of  o  and  u,  see  page 
liii,  §199,  and  page  Iv,  §240,  of  Webster's  New  International 
Dictionary. 

On  page  2  of  another  anonymous  circular,  quoting  ' '  The 
Teacher's  Journal,"  the  work  of  Professor  E.  W.  Scripture, 
done  in  1901,  is  cited  as  applying  to  the  National  Education 
Association  alphabet — an  alphabet  which  was  not  devised 
nor  recommended  until  1910,  or  nine  years  later.  Comment 
on  such  tactics  is  needless. 

The  number  of  symbols  recommended  for  use  by  the 
National  Education  Association  Committee  is  48. 

The  number  of  symbols  used  by  the  Oxford  English 


302  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Dictionary,  with  its  many  representations  of  rapid,  careless, 
and  incidental  colloquial  utterance,  is  95. 

The  number  of  symbols  used  by  Webster's  International 
Dictionary  is  85. 

The  number  of  symbols  used  by  Webster's  New  Inter- 
national is  64  (eleven  new  symbols  added,  ten  old  symbols 
discarded — twenty-one  changes  in  all). 

Again  one  is  prompted  to  ask  which  is  easier  to  memorize 
— an  alphabet  of  48  symbols  or  one  of  64  ? 

On  page  5  of  the  circular  which  attacks  the  National 
Education  Association's  work  its  projectors  who  have  had 
no  experience  whatever  with  the  National  Education  As- 
sociation alphabet,  claim  that  "confusion  is  involved  when 
attempt  is  made  to  distinguish  the  symbols."  The  Com- 
mittee of  the  National  Education  Association  can  afford 
to  challenge  any  one  to  produce  an  alphabet  in  which  the 
symbols  are  clearer  and  cleaner  than  that  which  they  have 
recommended.  Practical  typographers  have  pronounced  it 
far  superior  to  anything  else  of  the  kind  yet  devised.  And 
the  symbols  are  so  cut  as  to  make  it  next  to  impossible  for 
any  of  them  to  become  obscure  through  filling  in  or  break- 
ing apart. 

In  conclusion  the  opponents  say  (p.  6,  par.  4)  :  "The 
above  criticisms  are  not  intended  to  discourage  the  attempt 
to  agree  upon  a  single  phonetic  key  alphabet." 

Then,  evidently,  they  are  intended  to  promote  it,  or  what 
we  have  before  us  is  no  more  nor  less  thaji  a  Greek  gift, 
and  the  efforts  to  oppose  the  work  of  the  National  Educa- 
tion Association  Committee  lacks  raison  d'etre.  The  alpha- 
bet recommended  by  this  Committee  is  used  for  indicating 
sounds  in  the  Funk  and  Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dic- 
tionary of  the  English  Language.    It  is  designated  therein 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     303 

as  Key  1,  and  a  full  account  of  it  is  given  in  the  Department 
of  Spelling  and  Pronunciation  in  the  introductory  pages  of 
that  work. 

As  a  concession  to  those  persons  who  contend  that  it  is 
easier  to  remember  64  symbols  than  48,  and  who  are  not 
concerned  with  exact  phonic  values,  the  alphabet  used 
for  indicating  sounds  in  text-books  is  also  given.  This  is 
merely  temporary ;  the  alphabet  is  used  to  aid  the  transition 
from  the  older  and  utterly  unscientific  and  unscholarly  me- 
dium to  the  modern  scientific  and  scholarly  alphabet  de- 
vised and  recommended  by  the  Committee  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Education 
Association. 

One  of  the  reasons  that  there  are  several  millions  of 
immigrants  in  the  United  States  who  are  unable  to  speak 
English  is  because  the  Federal  Government  has  not  taken 
any  steps  to  provide,  through  its  Department  of  Education, 
a  bureau  to  which  the  important  branch  of  imparting  in- 
struction in  English  might  be  intrusted.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  an  alien  immigrant  who  has  been  afforded  the  oppor- 
tunity of  learning  English  will  the  sooner  realize  to  the 
full  the  benefits  of  American  citizenship,  and  thus  will 
graduate  earlier  as  a  good  citizen  than  he  will  if  left  to 
the  European  mill  that,  in  the  name  of  patriotism,  grinds 
him  out  as  ' '  cannon-fodder ' '  every  year.  In  imparting  this 
instruction  the  adoption  of  a  phonetic  system  that  har- 
monizes in  its  values  with  the  values  that  each  letter  has  in 
the  alphabet  of  the  language  which  the  immigrant  speaks 
will  prove  a  big  help  in  the  Americanizing  of  the  alien 
pro  hono  publico,  and  will  prevent  him  from  mispro- 
nouncing such  words  as  heen,  finger,  forehead,  girl,  nature, 
picture,  third,  were,  white,  yes,  etc. 


304  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

2.    On  Reading 

John  Ruskin,  past  master  in  the  art  of  expression,  left 
to  all  who  love  our  language  some  advice  in  regard  to  its 
study — advice  which,  in  these  days  of  fads  in  teaching, 
if  heeded  in  our  schoolrooms  would  turn  out  better  spellers, 
better  readers,  and  infinitely  better  speakers  than  are  turned 
out  to-day.  "You  must,"  said  he,  "get  into  the  habit  of 
looking  intently  at  words,  assuring  yourself  of  their  mean- 
ing syllable  by  syllable — nay,  letter  by  letter.  For  though 
it  is  only  by  reason  of  the  apposition  of  letters  in  the 
function  of  signs  to  sounds  that  the  study  of  books  is  called 
'literature,'  and  that  a  man  versed  in  it  is  called  a  man 
of  letters  instead  of  a  man  of  books  or  of  words,  you  may 
yet  connect  with  that  accidental  nomenclature  this  real  fact, 
that  you  might  read  all  the  books  in  the  British  Museum 
(if  you  could  live  long  enough),  and  remain  an  utterly 
illiterate,  uneducated  person ;  but  that  if  you  read  ten  pages 
of  a  good  book,  letter  by  letter — that  is  to  say,  with  real 
accuracy — you  are  forevermore  in  some  measure  an  edu- 
cated person." 

The  first,  the  most  palpable  evil,  and  the  one  most 
difficult  to  amend  in  teaching  the  art  of  reading  is  the 
wrong  done  to  little  children  by  our  wretched  orthography. 
Learning  to  read  could  be  made  a  pleasant  and  an  easy 
victory  for  the  child  instead  of  a  burden.  Everybody 
knows  this,  but  every  time  some  one  sets  to  work  to  save  the 
children  from  the  hateful  task  that  not  all  their  elders  have 
conquered  he  is  assailed  much  as  the  labors  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  National  Education  Association,  referred  to 
above,  have  been  assailed. 

To  be  a  good  reader,  ready  to  take  an  article  and  deliver 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     305 

it  in  an  intelligible,  artistic,  impressive  manner,  calls  for  a 
good  deal  of  study  and  practise.  Fifty  years  ago  a  boy  or 
a  girl  was  considered  very  poorly  educated  who  could  not 
recite  well  a  bit  of  Shakespeare,  Milton,  or  Tennyson.  It 
is  said  to  be  the  case  no  longer.  And  more  is  the  pity.  A 
good  reader  has  an  art  more  effective  than  a  poor  piano- 
player.  Better  know  how  to  read  well  than  have  a  little 
smattering  of  geology  or  botany. 

That  we  are  now  in  want  of  an  art  to  teach  how  books 
are  to  be  read,  rather  than  to  read  them,  is  as  true  to-day 
as  it  was  when  Isaac  D  'Israeli  expressed  the  thought.  * '  Our 
reading  public,"  said  Dr.  Haley,  ''is  generally  too  much 
like  a  mob  at  a  public  execution  crowding  and  jostling, 
hasting  and  fuming,  to  witness  the  catastrophe." 

Coleridge  described  readers  as  of  four  kinds.  "The 
first,"  he  said,  "is  the  hour-glass,  and  their  reading  being 
as  the  sands,  it  runs  in  and  runs  out  and  leaves  not  a 
vestige  behind;  a  second  is  like  the  sponge,  which  imbibes 
everything,  and  returns  it  in  nearly  the  same  state,  only 
a  little  dirtier ;  a  third  is  like  a  jelly-bag,  allowing  all  that 
is  pure  to  pass  away,  and  retaining  only  the  refuse  and 
dregs;  and  the  fourth  is  like  the  slaves  in  the  diamond 
mines  of  Golconda,  who,  casting  aside  all  that  is  worthless, 
retain  only  pure  gems." 

A  class  of  sophomores,  who  had  but  lately  completed  a 
course  in  English  literature,  and  were  required  to  take  an 
examination,  are  said  to  have  furnished  the  following  gems 
as  the  result  of  their  studies : 

(1)  The  periodical  essay  was  in  vogue  as  far  back  as  the  time 
of  the  Danish  invasion  and  Alfred  the  Great.  Tlie  English 
"Chronicle"  was  the  paper  then,  and  in  it  were  placed  various 
bits  of  literature  worth  keeping.     Later  came  the  introduction 


306  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

of  printing,  and  then  the  papers  were  more  widely  distributed. 
It  remained,  however,  for  Goldsmith  and  his  friends  to  produce 
the  papers  which  were  widely  read  and  looked  for.  Goldsmith 
edited  during  his  life  several  different  papers,  among  them 
being  the  "Spectator,"  the  "Tatler,"  and  the  Sir  Roger  de 
Coverly  paper. 

(2)  In  the  year  1422  William  Caxton  was  ushered  on  to  terra 
firma. 

(3)  Marlowe  died  when  only  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  and 
although  he  might  have  done  better,  we  can't  tell. 

(4)  Shakespeare's  marriage  was  not  a  howling  success;  he 
had  three  children. 

(5)  The  first  English  novel  was  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  by 
Stevenson. 

(6)  Still  another  who  contributed  to  the  development  of  the 
novel  was  Blackstone,  who  wrote  "Looua  Doane." 

(7)  Samuel  Richardson  developed  the  novel  still  farther  when 
he  wrote  "Johnny  Jones." 

(8)  Caedmon  is  one  of  the  oldest  men  in  literature  that  we 
know  of. 

(9)  "The  Rape  of  the  Lark,"  by  Alexander  Pope,  was  his 
favorite  work. 

Incredible  as  they  seem,  these  results  are  said  not  to  have 
been  worse  than  their  teacher  had  expected. 

The  occupant  of  a  chair  in  the  English  Department  of 
one  of  our  universities  recently  distinguished  between  the 
work  of  teaching  boys  to  write  English  and  teaching  how  to 
know  English  literature — that  is,  to  know  it  and  to  appre- 
ciate it  in  any  reasonable  degree.  He  found  his  task  a 
remarkably  difficult  one.  Commenting  on  this  subject, 
Professor   Henry   S.    Canby^   said:    "The   undergraduate 

'  "Yale  Review,"   October,   1914. 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     307 

must  be  able  to  read  literature  in  order  to  know  it,  and  to 
read  he  must  have  the  power  of  interpretation.  Unless  he 
has  some  pretty  exact  knowledge  of  the  thought  behind  the 
words  of  Milton  or  Shakespeare  or  Tennyson  or  Emerson 
or  Shelley  or  Stevenson,  he  can  not  read  them  with  more 
than  (it  is  reckoned)  about  50  per  cent,  efficiency  of  com- 
prehension. This  percentage  is,  in  Professor  Canby's 
judgment,  below  the  margin  of  enjoyment  and  below  the 
point  where  real  profit  begins."  The  Professor  concludes 
that  "two-thirds  of  an  English  course  must  be  learning  to 
search  out  the  meaning  of  the  written  word,  must  be  just 
learning  how  to  read.  And,  if  one  can  not  read  lightly, 
easily,  intelligently,  why,  the  storehouse  is  locked;  the 
golden  books  may  be  purchased  and  perused,  but  they  will 
be  little  better  than  so  much  paper  and  print. ' ' 

Given  a  parent  with  a  love  of  literature,  the  chance  of  a 
child's  learning  to  read  intelligently  is  greater;  the  results 
are  likely  to  be  superior  in  character  to  the  examples  cited 
above,  and  if  the  reading  be  done  in  the  company  of  an 
unabridged  dictionary,  of  a  much  more  permanent  value. 

When  we  read  we  should  do  so  to  instruct  ourselves  and 
to  extract  the  wholesome  percepts  from  the  pages  before 
us.  Rufus  Choate  acquired  the  habit  of  reading  daily 
some  first-class  English  author,  ''chiefly  for  the  copia 
verhorum,  to  avoid  sinking  into  cheap  and  bald  fluency, 
to  give  elevation,  dignity,  sonorousness,  and  refinement  to 
my  vocabulary. ' '  But  the  great  mass  of  the  reading  public 
reads  differently.  Its  choice  of  reading  matter  is  shown 
by  the  patronage  it  gives  nowadays  to  anything  sensational, 
be  it  newspaper,  magazine  or  short  story.  The  value  of 
reading  is  not  in  the  quantity  of  matter  perused  but  in  its 
quality  and  in  the  amount  of  intelligence  brought  to  bear 


308  ESSENTIALS   OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

upon  the  task  or  pastime.  A  year  or  two  ago  Mr.  H.  G. 
Wells,  the  novelist,  speaking  at  the  British  Institute  of 
Journalists,  said  that  our  reading  should  be  more  of  the 
work  of  the  present  than  of  that  of  the  past.  He  depre- 
cated the  cheap  reprints  of  the  Classics  and  of  standard 
books,  and  thought  they  were  bought  but  not  read.  If  they 
were  read  he  did  not  think  the  readers  gained  much  benefit 
by  their  study,  and  that  the  time  given  to  them  would  be 
better  applied  in  following  up  what  was  being  written 
and  what  was  being  done  to-day.  One  may,  perhaps,  be 
pardoned  for  pointing  out  that  Mr.  Wells,  as  a  writer  of 
the  day,  thinks  that  writers  of  the  day  should  receive 
greater  patronage  from  the  reading  public  than  they 
actually  do,  and  take  their  Classics  at  second  hand  from 
the  modern  school  rather  than  from  the  fountain  head. 
One  is  almost  tempted  to  ask  if  that  is  the  way  Mr.  Wells 
himself  studied  the  Classics. 

That  in  many  spheres  of  activity  and  of  thought  the  pres- 
ent is  far  ahead  of  the  past  one  will  not  attempt  to  deny, 
but  this  very  advance  was  built  upon  past  knowledge  which 
must  have  been  based  upon  a  very  solid  foundation  to  place 
us  where  we  are  to-day.  None  of  us  can  understand  any 
part  of  the  present  without  having  some  knowledge  of  the 
past.  We  feel,  for  instance,  that  in  the  very  life  we  lead  we 
have  left  behind  forever  that  coarseness  of  expression — 
that  plain  unvarnished  speech  which  characterized  the 
dramatists  of  the  Elizabethan  and  Restoration  periods. 
But  are  we  not  deluding  ourselves?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that 
the  coarseness  is  still  with  us,  but  it  has  been  veneered? 
The  modern  press,  the  modern  drama,  and  the  modern  novel 
are  seasoned  to  public  taste,  and  in  some  cases  so  highly 
seasoned  as  to  be  unpalatable.    They  are  tainted  to  such  a 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     309 

degree  as  to  threaten  the  moral  health  of  that  very  public 
which  patronizes  them.  Freedom  of  the  press,  when  that 
press  is  controlled  by  men  of  good  repute,  is  eminently 
desirable;  but  when  it  is  controlled  by  men  who  have  no 
regard  for  truth,  none  for  morality,  and  only  degraded 
conceptions  of  national  honor ;  by  men  who  for  the  sake  of 
profit  glory  in  debauching  the  minds  and  corrupting  the 
morals  of  their  readers,  then  it  is  time  to  curtail  that  free- 
dom, for  when  hand  in  hand  with  untruth,  immorality  and 
corruption  go  unchecked,  they  will  sooner  or  later  prey 
upon  national  life  and  degrade  society. 

No  one  can  deny  the  widespread  influence  of  the  sala- 
cious press  and  the  suggestive  novel,  and  their  power  to 
do  harm  is  incalculable,  so  let  us  hope  some  steps  will  be 
taken  to  check  them.  The  past  may  have  had  a  coarseness 
of  expression  in  its  literature  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  us  to  imitate,  but  even  that  was  health  itself  compared 
with  the  abominable  suggestiveness  of  the  modern  sex  novel 
of  which  Dr.  Horton  said,  referring  to  one  such  book  that 
had  been  forwarded  to  him  by  an  English  publisher:  "I 
honestly  tell  you  I  would  rather  wade  up  to  my  chin  in  a 
cesspool  than  read  that  book  through ! ' '  Well,  all  modern 
books  are  not  as  bad  as  that;  probably  Dr.  Horton  re- 
ceived an  extreme  type. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  that  past  of  which  Mr.  Wells  dis- 
approves, or  rather  to  its  literature  which  is  Classic  and 
without  a  knowledge  of  which  no  education  is  complete.  A 
Classic,  said  Sainte-Beuve,  is  "an  author  who  has  enriched 
the  human  spirit,  who  has  really  augmented  the  treasure, 
who  has  enabled  it  to  take  another  step  onward ;  who  has 
discovered  some  genuine  truth  of  morals,  or  seized  afresh 
some  eternal  passion  of  the  heart,  in  which  everything 


310  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

seemed  known  and  explored ;  who  has  rendered  his  thought, 
his  observation,  his  discovery  in  a  form  varied,  it  may  be, 
yet  with  breadth  and  grandeur,  with  strength  and  delicacy, 
noble  and  beautiful  in  itself,  who  has  spoken  to  all  in  a 
style  of  his  own,  yet  a  style  which  belongs  to  the  world, 
in  a  style  new  without  neologism,  new  and  old,  easily  the 
contemporary  of  all  ages." 

The  royal  road  to  the  correct  use  of  English  words  is 
the  reading  of  the  English  Classics,  and  from  the  natural 
process  of  unconscious  assimilation  which  such  a  course  of 
reading  produces  the  lover  of  English  will  acquire  the 
command  of  the  correct  application  of  words;  an  ample 
vocabulary  for  all  his  needs,  and,  by  consulting  a  good 
dictionary  every  time  he  comes  across  a  word  of  which 
the  meaning  is  unfamiliar,  and  noting  it  down  carefully 
in  a  commonplace  book,  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  meaning 
of  words.  To  understand  the  Classics  we  should,  before 
we  read  them,  set  ourselves  to  the  task  of  finding  oiit 
something  of  the  periods  in  which  they  lived  as  well  as  of 
those  of  which  they  wrote,  for  learning  how  to  read  is  no 
easy  acquisition ;  this  does  not  refer  to  matters  of  enuncia- 
tion or  those  of  voice  inflection,  hut  to  the  quick  and  true 
apprehension  of  the  meaning. 

By  following  Dr.  Thomas  Arnold's  advice  to  let  our 
reading  be  varied  in  its  kind,  and  widely  varied,  we  may 
greatly  benefit.  The  reader  who  wishes  to  be  guided  to  a 
course  of  reading  which  will  enable  him  to  enlarge  his 
vocabulary  will  find  the  Chandos  Classics — a  series  of  stan- 
dard works  complete  in  150  volumes,  each  of  which  can  be 
purchased  separately  for  75  cents — an  excellent  medium  to 
begin  with.  Another  is  Sir  John  Lubbock's  (Lord  Ave- 
bury)   selection  of  One  Hundred  Best  Books,  which  has 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     311 

been  pronounced  a  splendid  treasury  of  deep  thought,  of 
romance,  of  wit,  of  travel  and  of  history.  These  are  sold 
separately  for  50  cents  each.  There  is  another  series  much 
more  extensive.  It  is  Bohn's  Standard  Library,  consist- 
ing of  more  than  300  volumes,  which  are  sold  separately 
from  75  cents  to  $1.00  each.  And  in  the  list  of  books  se- 
lected by  the  National  Conference  of  Associated  Colleges 
and  Preparatory  Schools  of  the  United  States  there  is 
another  series  of  English  Classics  which  comprises  more 
than  100  works  written  by  seventy  authors.^  The  volumes 
are  issued  by  various  publishers  at  different  prices.  Another 
series  is  the  Eclectic  English  Classics.  The  volumes  are 
sold  separately  from  20  cents  to  60  cents  each,  A  very 
popular  series  nowadays  is  provided  in  ** Everyman's 
Library"  of  700  volumes,  sold  separately  at  70  cents  each. 

The  intelligent  reading  of  the  volumes  in  any  one  of 
the  selections '  named  will  enable  all  who  wish  to  do  so  to 
acquire  the  command  of  vocabularies  ample  for  their  needs. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  supply  bare  lists  of  words  for  the 
meanings  of  which  the  reader  would  have  to  consult  a 
dictionary,  for  these  words  are  best  studied  in  relation 
with  their  context,  for  therefrom  one  obtains  a  conception 
of  their  correct  use.  Intelligent  reading  helps  one  to  keep 
in  touch  with  his  fellow  men ;  it  quickens  the  imagination, 
helps  to  develop  the  intellect,  relieves  depression,  and  often 
proves  a  perfect  panacea  for  the  mitigation  of  physical 
strain. 

The  following  list  of  books  that  children  may  read  with 
pleasure  and  profit  is  offered  by  way  of  suggesting  that 
one  should  guide  a  child's  tastes  in  reading  early  and  thus 
help  to  develop  a  latent  interest  along  the  right  lines.     As 

«  See  pp.  208-211  of  this  book. 


312  ESSENTIALS   OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Miss  Ruth  Cameron  has  fittingly  said:  "Start  a  child  to 
reading  some  of  the  really  fine  books  written  for  children, 
and  some  of  the  really  fine  books  not  written  especially 
for  them  but  simple  enough  to  interest  them,  and  by  and 
by  you  will  have  a  grown  man  or  woman  capable  of  enjoy- 
ing good  literature. ' '  The  list  might  be  amplified  by  citing 
the  works  of  Jules  Verne,  Erckmann-Chatrian,  and  of 
others,  but  is  of  sufficient  length  to  start  along  the  right 
road: 

(1)  ^sop's  Fables.  (2)  Alcott,  Louisa — Little  Men,  Little 
Women,  Under  the  Lilacs.  (These  three  books  are  considered 
far  and  away  her  best.)  (3)  Aldrich — The  Story  of  a  Bad  Boy. 
(4)  Andersen  and  Grimm — ^Fairy  Tales.  (5)  Arabian  Nights. 
(6)  Barbour — For  the  Honor  of  the  School.  (7)  Barrie — Peter 
Pan;  Peter  and  Wendy.  (8)  Bunyan — ^Pilgrim's  Progress.  (9) 
Burnett — Little  Lord  Fauntleroy,  The  Little  Princess.  (10) 
Carroll — Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland,  Through  the  Look- 
ing Glass.  (11)  Child's  Bible.  (12)  Cooper— Last  of  the  Mohi- 
cans, Leather  Stocking  Tales.  (13)  Crockett — The  Lilac  Sun- 
bonnet.  (14)  Daskam — Sister's  Vocation,  Memoirs  of  a  Baby. 
(15)  Defoe — Robinson  Crusoe.  (16)  Dickens — David  Copper- 
field,  Nicholas  Niekleby,  Old  Curiosity  Shop,  Tale  of  Two  Cities, 
Christmas  Carols.  (17)  Doyle— The  White  Company,  (18) 
Dumas — Monte  Cristo.  (19)  Eggleston — Hoosier  School  Master. 
(20)  Evans — Saint  Elmo,  Beulah.  (21)  Ewing — Jackanapes; 
Lob-lie-by-the-fire.  (22)  Fox— The  Little  Shepherd  of  King- 
dom Come.  (23)  Garland,  Hamlin— The  Long  Trail.  (24) 
Gaskell — Cranford.  (25)  Haggard — King  Solomon's  Mines. 
(26)  Hale— Man  Without  a  Country.  (27)  Hawthorne— Tangle- 
wood  Tales,  Wonderbook.  (28)  Henty — March  to  Magdala. 
(29)  Hughes — Tom  Brown's  Schooldays.  (30)  Jackson,  Helen 
Hunt — Ramona.  (31)  Kingsley — ^Water  Babies.  (32)  Kipling 
— Jungle  Book,  Captains  Courageous.  (33)  Lamb — Tales  from 
Shakespeare.  (34)  Lytton,  Bulwer — Last  Days  of  Pompeii. 
(35)  Macleod — The  Book  of  King  Arthur  and  His  Noble 
Knights,     (36)      Marryatt — Masterman     Ready.     (37)      Page, 


PHONETICS,  PRONUNCIATION,  AND  READING     313 

Thomas  Nelson— Old  Creole  Days.  (38)  Quiller-Coueh— The 
Splendid  Spur.  (39)  Raspe — The  Adventures  of  Baron  Mun- 
chausen. (40)  Ruskin — King  of  the  Golden  River.  (41)  Scott 
— Ivanhoe,  Kenilworth,  Quentin  Durward,  The  Talisman.  (42) 
Selections  from  Les  Miserables.  (43)  Stevenson — Child's 
Garden  of  Verse,  Treasure  Island,  Kidnapped.  (44)  Swift — 
Gulliver's  Travels.  (45)  Sydney — The  Five  Little  Pepper  Series 
(Earlier  ones).  (46)  Twain,  Mark — Tom  Sawyer,  The  Prince 
and  the  Pauper,  Huckleberry  Finn.  (47)  Van  Dyke — The  First 
Christmas  Tree.  (48)  Wallace,  Lew — Ben  Hur.  (49)  Wiggin 
— Polly  Oliver's  Problem,  Birds'  Christmas  Carol.  (50)  Wyss 
— Swiss  Family  Robinson. 


Notk:  The  claims  based  on  so-called  experiments  with  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association  alphabet  made  by  Mr.  Guy  M.  Whipple,  and  described  in 
his  pamphlet,  "Relative  Efficiency  of  Phonetic  Alphabet,"  have  been  effec- 
tively disposed  of  by  Professors  Raymond  Weeks,  James  W.  Bright,  and 
Charles  H.  Grandgent  in  their    "Review  of  the  Whipple  Experiments." 


Writing  for  Publication 

In  the  art  of  writing  for  publication  no  short  cut  leads 
to  success.  Everyone  who  expects  to  succeed  at  it  must 
serve  a  long  and  sometimes  a  tedious  apprenticeship,  during 
which  his  patience  will  be  sorely  taxed  and  his  powers  of 
perseverance  severely  tested.  Ability  to  tell  a  story  well 
is  helpful,  but  this  quality  must  be  supported  by  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  correct  composition.  Good  com- 
position is  the  result  of  correctly  using  well-chosen  words, 
and  of  so  arranging  them  that  their  meaning  can  be 
readily  understood. 

The  successful  writer  invariably  has  personality  and  char- 
acter. It  is  by  the  exercise  of  that  dynamic  force  which 
we  call  ''will"  that  he  is  able  to  achieve  what  he  sets  out 
to  do.  Native  or  developed  genius,  keen  observation,  vivid 
imagination,  a  lively  sense  of  humor,  ability  to  properly 
appreciate  the  picturesque,  and  power  to  concentrate 
thought — these  are  the  qualities  that  help  to  make  for 
success  in  writing.  These  qualities  are  not  usually  all 
found  in  one  person,  but  such  as  are  lacking  may  be  ac- 
quired, developed,  and  cultivated  by  application.  Among 
men  of  average  education  there  are  very  few  who  are  able 
to  find  "sermons  in  stones  and  books  in  running  brooks," 
even  though  they  be  optimistic  enough  to  declare  that  they 
can  find  good  in  everything.  Some  persons  are  impressed 
by  scenery ;  others  are  controlled  by  sentiment ;  some  are 

314 


WRITING   FOR  PUBLICATION  315 

influenced  by  contact  with  their  fellow  men  and  women; 
others  are  affected  by  their  surroundings  and  home  in- 
fluences. As  a  rule,  the  dunce  that  has  been  sent  to 
roam  excels  the  dunce  that  has  been  kept  at  home. 

Every  writer  should  cultivate  the  habit  of  accuracy,  for, 
at  the  very  best,  there  are  few  persons  who  can  relate  even 
the  most  trivial  of  circumstances  as  they  really  occurred. 
"The  writer  who  would  write  for  immortality,"  wrote 
Vergil,  "should  study  with  accuracy  the  plan  of  his  work, 
the  propriety  of  his  characters,  and  the  purity  of  his 
diction. ' '  To  Emerson  we  owe  this  advice :  "If  you  would 
write  to  any  purpose  you  must  be  perfectly  free  from 
within ;  give  yourself  the  natural  rein ;  think  on  no  pattern, 
no  patron,  no  paper,  no  press,  no  public ;  think  on  nothing, 
but  follow  your  impulses;  give  yourself  as  you  are,  what 
you  are,  and  how  you  see  it;  every  man  sees  with  his  own 
eyes,  or  does  not  see  at  all;  this  is  incontrovertibly  true. 
Bring  out  what  you  have ;  if  you  have  nothing,  be  an  honest 
beggar,  rather  than  a  respectable  thief. ' ' 

Such  grammarians  as  embrace  the  art  of  composition 
in  their  treatises  invariably  state  that  style  is  the  manner 
in  which  a  writer  expresses  his  conceptions  by  means  of 
language ;  style,  they  say,  is  not  to  be  regulated  altogether 
by  rules  of  construction,  and  then  they  proceed  to  enumerate 
the  different  qualities  of  style.  It  is  not  wise  for  a  beginner 
to  hamper  the  natural  flow  of  his  thoughts  with  these  at 
the  outset.  In  time  he  will  be  able  to  determine  for  him- 
self the  difference  between  the  natural  and  the  forced,  the 
concise  and  the  diffuse;  the  perspicuous  and  the  obscure. 
If  he  thinks  clearly  he  will,  in  all  probability,  write  natur- 
ally and  concisely,  and  perspicuity  will  follow  as  a  matter 
of  course.     But,  before  putting  pen  to  paper  he  must  have 


316  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

or  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  matter  about  which 
he  purposes  to  write.  Care  and  perseverance  are  qualities 
essential  to  accuracy.  Exactness  of  thought  results  more 
often  than  not  from  ability  to  analyze  details  and  to  exer- 
cise sound  judgment.  Strong  convictions  and  the  power 
to  absorb  often  lead  to  forceful  writing,  which  is  the  result 
of  feeling  and  earnestness  of  purpose.  The  foundation  of 
all  good  creative  work  is  feeling;  eliminate  feeling  and 
whatever  you  write  will  lack  individuality  and  interest; 
nothing  but  a  lifeless  mass  of  words  will  remain,  possibly 
icily  correct  so  far  as  grammar  and  rhetoric  are  concerned, 
but  nevertheless  colorless  and  without  spirit. 

Purity  of  style  restricts  one  to  the  use  of  only  those 
words  and  phrases  which  belong  to  our  language.  To 
secure  this  one  must  abstain  (1)  from  using  foreign  words 
or  idioms,  and  give  preference  to  the  native  English  terra 
whenever  that  exists ;  (2)  from  using  archaic,  obsolescent  or 
obsolete  words;  (3)  from  using  colloquialisms  and  slang; 
(4)  from  using  hybrid  terms  or  nonce  words;  (5)  from 
bombast  or  affectedness  which  only  serve  to  make  one 
ridiculous.  Roger  Ascham  sought  to  discourage  the  use  of 
foreign  words  in  the  introduction  to  "Toxophilus"  (1544)  ^ 
Propriety  of  style  is  secured  by  selecting  the  right  words 
to  use  and  by  using  them  correctly  in  constructing  sen- 
tences to  express  thought.  This  correct  use  is  in  general 
based  upon  the  best  usage  as  found  in  the  works  of  the 
great  masters.  "When  writing  prose  one  should  take  care 
(1)  to  follow  the  natural  order  of  things  or  events;  (2) 
to  refrain  from  using  equivocal  and  ambiguous  expressions ; 
(3)  to  avoid  making  use  of  the  language  of  poetry — morn 
and  eve,  oft  and  stilly  are  words  that  belong  to  the  poet's 

*  "Toxophilus,"  Arber's  reprint,  p.   18.     See  also  p.  77  of  this  book. 


WRITING   FOR   PUBLICATION  317 

vocabulary  rather  than,  to  that  of  the  essayist  and  prose 
writer — and  (4)  to  reject  provincial  and  dialectal  phrase- 
ology as  undesirable.  (5)  Technical  terms  should  be  used 
only  in  treating  the  particular  art,  science,  trade  or  occu- 
pation to  which  they  belong. 

Precision  in  writing  is  obtained  by  avoiding  the  use  of 
unnecessary  words  and  by  expressing  oneself  in  such  a  way 
that  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  thought  one  has  in  mind 
is  presented  to  the  reader.  To  do  this  effectively  it  is 
necessary  (1)  to  avoid  tautology  or  the  unnecessary  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  word  or  idea,  and  (2)  to  use  only  such 
words  as  are  suited  to  the  occasion.  To  illustrate  this  point 
clearly :  One  may  acquire  knowledge  by  diligent  study  and 
thus  attain  honor  and  gain  celebrity.  Another  obtains  a 
reward  when  he  wins  a  prize.  In  these  sentences  the  five 
words  printed  in  italics  are  approximately  synonymous  in 
meaning,  but  can  not  well  be  transposed  without  offending 
precision. 

Phelps^  tells  us  that  one  to  whom  thought  comes  in  a 
volume  of  words  may  express  more,  he  may  express  less, 
he  may  express  other  than  his  real  meaning.  He  to  whom 
words  occur  with  difficulty  is  the  more  apt  to  have  a  studied 
expression,  and  therefore  an  exact  expression.  In  one  of 
Edmund  Burke's  elaborated  sentences  there  may  be 
found  words  and  clauses  selected  and  multiplied  and 
arranged  and  compacted  and  qualified  and  defined  and 
repeated,  for  the  very  purpose  of  extending  and  limiting 
the  truth  to  its  exact  and  undoubted  measure.  He  ob- 
viously labors  to  say  just  what  he  means,  no  more,  no  less, 
no  other.  Still,  on  the  whole,  he  fails,  because  he  is  so 
elaborately  precise  in  details.     The  thought  is  suffocated  by 

*  "English  Style  in   Public   Discourse,"  p.   91. 


318  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

the  multitude  of  words  employed  to  give  it  life.  It  is 
buried. 

*' Perspicuity,"  says  Thomas  Reid,^  "depends  upon  a 
proper  choice  of  words,  a  proper  structure  of  sentences,  and 
a  proper  order  in  the  whole  composition  .  .  ,  but  it  supposes 
distinctness  in  our  conceptions."  Concisely  defined,  per- 
spicuity is  freedom  from  obscurity,  intricacy,  or  ambiguity, 
and  is  secured  (1)  by  placing  adjectives,  adverbs,  relative 
pronouns,  participles,  and  explanatory  phrases  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  words  to  which  they  relate  and  in  such  a 
position  as  is  necessary  to  the  correct  interpretation  of  the 
sense;  and  (2)  by  avoiding  the  misuse  of  ellipses,  and  by 
repeating  such  words  as  are  necessaiy  to  express  the  sense. 
For  example,  in  the  sentence  "Self-reliance  fits  us  both 
for  the  development  of  our  plans  and  for  carrying  them 
to  completion,"  the  two  words  in  italics  are  indispensable 
to  the  correct  understanding  of  the  thought.  Likewise,  the 
insertion  of  the  word  "other"  in  the  sentence  that  follows 
is  necessary  to  a  correct  reading :  ' '  This  dictionary  contains 
more  words  than  any  other  dictionary  published." 

Unity  in  literary  composition  is  the  principle  that  one 
central  or  dominating  idea  or  ideal  should  pervade  and  con- 
trol the  whole.  This  is  to  be  obtained  (1)  by  avoiding  the 
introduction  of  useless  breaks  or  pauses;  (2)  by  keeping 
the  main  object  predominant  throughout  a  sentence  or 
paragraph;  (3)  by  treating  different  subjects  in  distinct 
paragraphs;  (4)  by  taking  care  to  favor  the  principal 
subject  of  a  sentence  instead  of  its  adjuncts;  (5)  by  avoid- 
ing the  introduction  of  unnecessary  or  long  parentheses 
and  thus  diverting  the  reader's  mind  from  the  main  theme. 

Strength  is  power  in  the  expression  of  meaning  in  lan- 

8  "Works,"  Vol.  II.,  Intellectual  Powers  essay,   iv.,  p.   399. 


WRITING   FOR   PUBLICATION  319 

guage  and  depends  upon  placing  the  most  important  words 
in  the  position  in  which  they  will  create  the  strongest 
impression.  Therefore,  when  making  different  assertions 
the  stronger  assertion  should  always  precede  the  weaker, 
and  in  sentences  composed  of  two  members  the  longer 
member  should  follow  the  shorter. 

Hazlitt  hated  anything  that  occupied  more  space  than  it 
was  worth.  "I  hate,"  said  he,  "to  see  a  load  of  band- 
boxes go  along  the  street,  and  I  hate  to  see  a  parcel  of  big 
words  without  anything  in  them."  Persons  who  write  in 
a  concise  and  terse  style  write  most  effectively.  They  do 
this  not  by  selecting  the  big,  round  word  but  by  using  the 
short,  simple  one  wherever  possible.  They  avoid  redun- 
dancy, tautology,  and  circumlocution.  Their  sentences  are 
not  so  short  as  to  be  abrupt  and  jerky,  not  so  long  as  to 
weary  the  reader,  nor  so  involved  as  to  entangle  him  in  a 
maze  of  words.  Milton,  in  his  essay  on  ''Education,"  has 
given  us  an  example  of  such  a  maze,  the  sense  of  which 
has  been  preserved  by  careful  punctuation:  ''And  for  the 
usual  method  of  teaching  arts,  I  deem  it  to  be  an  old  errour 
of  universities,  not  yet  well  recovered  from  the  scholastic 
grossness  of  barbarous  ages,  that  instead  of  beginning  with 
arts  most  easy  (and  those  be  such  as  are  most  obvious  to 
the  sense),  they  present  their  young  iramatriculated  novices 
at  first  coming  with  the  most  intellective  abstractions  of 
logic  and  metaphysics;  so  that  they  having  but  newly  left 
those  grammatic  flats  and  shallows  where  they  stuck  un- 
reasonably to  learn  a  few  words  with  lamentable  construc- 
tion, and  now  on  tlie  sudden  transported  under  another 
climate  to  be  tossed  and  turmoiled  with  their  unballasted 
wits  in  fathomless  and  unquiet  depths  of  controversy,  do 
for  the  most  part  grow  into  hatred  and  contempt  of  learn- 


320  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

ing,  mocked  and  deluded  all  this  while  with  ragged  notions 
and  babblements,  while  they  expected  worthy  and  delight- 
ful knowledge;  till  poverty  or  youthful  years  call  them 
importunately  their  several  ways,  and  hasten  them  with  the 
sway  of  friends  either  to  an  ambitious  and  mercenary,  or 
ignorantly  zealous  divinity;  some  allured  to  the  trade  of 
law,  grounding  their  purposes  not  on  the  prudent  and 
heavenly  contemplation  of  justice  and  equity,  which 
was  never  taught  them,  but  on  the  promising  and  pleasing 
thoughts  of  litigious  terms,  fat  contentions,  and  flowing 
fees;  others  betake  them  to  state  affairs,  with  souls  so 
unprincipled  in  virtue  and  true  generous  breeding,  that 
flattery  and  courtships  and  tyrannous  aphorisms  appear 
to  them  the  highest  points  of  wisdom ;  instilling  their  barren 
hearts  with  conscientious  slavery;  if,  as  I  rather  think, 
it  be  not  feigned. ' ' 

Of  the  difficulties  that  beginners  have  to  contend  with 
the  chief  is  the  desire  to  produce  something  that  will  be 
impressive.  This  leads,  often,  to  the  use  of  big  words  and 
flowery  expressions  which  are  forced  on  the  paper  much  as 
plants  are  forced  under  the  nurseryman's  frame.  To 
those  persons  who  wish  to  overcome  this  defect,  the  best 
advice  that  can  be  given  is :  when  you  write  try  to  appear 
as  you  are  rather  than  as  you  wish  to  be.  Be  natural,  and 
you  will  not  only  find  that  nature  is  your  second  self  but 
that  writing  will  become  a  pleasure  rather  than  a  laborious 
task.     Simple  language  is  always  effective. 

As  a  writer  in  ' '  Ophthalmic  Literature '  '^  put  it :  Any  one 
who  has  something  to  write  can  learn  to  write  it  clearly, 
smoothly,  and  effectively  if  he  wishes  to  do  so.  To  learn 
to  write  good  English,  thought  must  be  given  to  the  exact 

*  "Ophthalmic  Literature,"  September,  1912. 


WRITING   FOR  PUBLICATION  321 

meaning  of  each  word  used.  From  among  different  words 
that  carry  about  the  same  meaning,  one  must  learn  to  choose 
that  one  which  most  exactly  conveys  the  thought.  The 
words  so  chosen  must  be  arranged  in  the  order  that  will  un- 
fold the  idea  most  smoothly  and  regularly  without  any  un- 
necessary breaks.  The  words  must  be  grouped  in  sen- 
tences, each  of  which  presents  a  fairly  complete  idea,  that 
may  be  grasped  without  leaving  it  indefinite,  or  dependent 
on  something  that  is  to  come  after. 

No  course  in  logic  or  general  intellectual  training  will  do 
more  to  develop  the  power  of  exact,  definite  connected  think- 
ing than  the  endeavor  to  use  words  with  exactness,  and  in 
proper  sequence  in  writing.  But  by  practising  the  exer- 
cises designed  to  improve  one's  style,  much  may  be  gained. 
A  practical  plan  to  develop  what  one  has  in  mind  is  first 
to  put  it  on  paper ;  then,  after  it  has  been  forgotten,  to  go 
over  it  again  and  attempt  to  substitute  sentences  equally  as 
appropriate  or  better;  and  finally,  after  another  period  of 
waiting,  to  choose  from  among  the  different  forms  of  ex- 
pression the  clearest,  most  definite.  Only  by  this  effort 
to  use  the  best  possible  form  of  expression,  kept  up  all  the 
time  one  is  engaged  in  writing;  and  by  repeated  revision 
of  what  one  has  written,  can  the  writing  of  good  English 
be  attained.  A  keen  interest  in  one's  subject  is  an  un- 
deniable desideratum,  for  when  one  is  full  of  what  one 
wishes  to  say,  the  various  forms  that  express  one's  thought 
arise  spontaneously  in  one's  mind,  and  it  is  by  selecting 
the  best  of  these  that  one  becomes  master  of  the  art  of 
writing. 

The  person  who  can  tell  a  story  effectively  should  have 
very  little  difficulty  in  writing  it  interestingly  if  nature  be 
given  sway  over  ambition.     The  desire  to  shine  is  human, 


322  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

but  it  is  so  strong  in  most  persons  who  wish  to  write  for 
publication  that  it  often  suppresses  individuality  inasmuch 
as  it  begets  in  the  writer's  mind  an  exaggerated  idea  of 
what  prospective  readers  may  expect,  for  most  of  us  have 
an  ideal  which  we  wish  to  attain  or  an  idol  whom  we  desire 
to  imitate.  There  are  few  persons  who,  when  they  begin 
to  write,  do  not  set  about  it  without  having  some  model  in 
mind — one  they  wish  to  imitate  or  one  after  whom  they 
desire  to  pattern  their  work.  The  novice  should  not  try 
to  cast  his  thoughts  in  some  master's  mold,  chiefly  because 
he  will  find  the  task  beyond  his  powers,  but  in  addition 
because  if  he  could  succeed  he  would  be  compelled  to 
produce  an  artificial  individuality  at  the  expense  of  the 
suppression  of  his  own.  Ellis^  tells  us  that  as  a  writer 
slowly  finds  his  own  center  of  gravity,  the  influence  of  the 
rhythm  of  other  writers  ceases  to  be  perceptible  except  in 
so  far  as  it  coincides  with  his  own  natural  movement  and 
tempo.  That  is  a  familiar  fact.  We  less  easily  realize, 
perhaps,  that  not  only  the  tunes,  but  the  notes  that  they 
are  formed  of,  in  every  great  writer  are  his  own.  In  other 
words,  he  creates  even  his  vocabulary.  That  is  so  not  only 
in  the  more  obvious  sense  that  out  of  the  mass  of  words 
that  make  up  a  language  every  writer  uses  only  a  limited 
number,  and  even  among  these  has  his  words  of  predilec- 
tion. It  is  in  the  meanings  he  gives  to  words,  to  names, 
that  a  ivriter  creates  his  vocabulary. 

Writing  for  the  press  is  one  of  the  best  exercises  for 
those  who  have  decided  to  follow  a  literary  career.  Jour- 
nalism is  an  exacting  profession,  but  he  who  has  been  for- 
tunate enough  to  graduate  from  the  editorial  rooms  of 
some  great  daily  has  a  liberal  education  in  the  art  of 

8  "The   Atlantic  Monthly,"   November,    1908. 


WRITING    FOR   PUBLICATION  323 

writing.  Some  of  the  shining  lights  in  English  literature 
served  their  apprenticeship  in  writing  for  the  press. 
Joseph  Addison,  poet  and  essayist,  wrote  for  a  tri-weekly 
sheet  called  "The  Tatler,"  which  was  started  by  his  old 
schoolfellow,  Richard  Steele,  and  also  for  a  much  more 
famous  publication,  "The  Spectator" — the  first  English 
periodical  worthy  of  the  name.  It  was  in  the  latter  that 
Addison's  finest  work  appeared. 

Richard  Steele,  playwright  and  essayist,  not  only  founded 
"The  Tatler,"  "The  Spectator,"  and  "The  Guardian,"  but 
contributed  to  them.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  teacher,  lexi- 
cographer, author,  was  inseparably  associated  with  "The 
Rambler, ' '  a  bi-weekly  periodical  and  ' '  The  Idler, ' '  a  pub- 
lication in  lighter  vein,  of  which  103  numbers  appeared. 
Lord  Macaulay  wrote  his  inimitable  essays  for  "The  Edin- 
burgh Review."  Emerson  edited  "The  Dial."  Holmes 
contributed  to  the  "Atlantic  Monthly."  Whittier  edited 
"The  Haverhill  Gazette,"  and  later  "The  New  England 
"Weekly  Review"  and  "The  Pennsylvania  Freeman." — 
Lowell,  Dickens,  Thackeray, — all  had  experience  in  news- 
paperdom  before  they  attained  the  lasting  fame  which 
they  enjoyed.  Horace  Greeley  and  Charles  Anderson 
Dana  were  famous  editors,  and  many  others  have  followed 
them,  but  few  of  these  have  reached  to  their  high  plane. 
Journalism  has  been  defined  as  literature  in  a  hurry.  Vis- 
count Morley,  who  was  taxed  with  having  framed  the 
definition,  denied  it.  He  said  that  to  define  journalism 
accurately  one  must  go  a  great  deal  deeper  than  that.  The 
journalist  has  to  take  the  moods  and  occasions  of  the  hour 
and  make  the  best  he  can  of  them.  He  is  a  man  of  action 
and  is  concerned  with  the  real.  The  qualities  of  a  good 
journalist,  says  Lord  Morley,  are  candor,  courtesy,  iude- 


324  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

pendence  and  responsibility,  but  even  this  definition  the 
noble  Lord  declared  inadequate.  The  journalist  works  in 
a  hurry,  and  tries  to  tell  what  he  has  to  tell  in  as  few  words 
as  it  is  possible  to  tell  it.  He  has  learned  how  to  con- 
centrate thought,  and  thus  can  present  facts  concisely. 
That  is  one  of  the  great  advantages  to  be  obtained  from 
journalistic  training. 

The  journalist  aims  to  suit  his  style  to  the  intelligence 
and  taste  of  the  greater  number  of  the  readers  of  the  jour- 
nal to  which  he  contributes,  and  the  better  class  of  journal 
seeks  to  elevate  and  to  refine  the  public  taste  rather  than 
to  deprave  it.  When  the  founders  of  ''The  Evening  Post" 
(New  York),  of  which  William  Cullen  Bryant  was  chief 
editor  in  1828,  issued  the  first  number  of  this  journal  they 
announced  its  purpose  in  the  following  terms :  *  *  The  design 
of  this  paper  is  to  diffuse  among  the  people  correct  infor- 
mation on  all  interesting  subjects,  to  inculcate  just  prin- 
ciples in  religion,  morals,  and  politics;  and  to  cultivate  a 
taste  for  sound  literature."®  The  progress  of  intelligence 
has  developed  human  thought  and  that  development  is  due 
largely  to  the  intellectual  influence  which  the  newspaper 
press  brings  to  bear  upon  the  people. 

•  Prospectus  of  the  "Evening  Post,"  No.  1,  Norember  16,  1801. 


XI 


Individuality  in  Writing 

To  tell  the  reader  how  he  can  infuse  his  individuality 
into  what  he  writes  is  not  an  easy  task,  and  therefore  it  is 
one  to  approach  with  timidity.  It  is  not  the  purpose  here 
to  instruct  him  how  he  can  become  eminent  in  literature. 
Practise,  talent,  opportunity  and  time  only  may  help  him 
to  the  enviable  position  of  a  successful  author.  To  Orson 
Squire  Fowler,  an  eminent  phrenologist  of  the  last  century, 
we  owe  the  thought  that  individuality  is  one  of  the  first 
developed  and  most  active  intellectual  organs  of  the  young. 
For  this  reason  Fowler  claimed  that  the  power  of  obser- 
vation in  children  should  be  the  principal  power  employed 
in  their  education.  It  is  on  the  individuality  of  the  citizen 
that  the  strength  of  the  State  depends,  and  this  individu- 
ality is  the  result  of  the  development  of  character. 

Individuality  in  writing  depends  upon  personal  character 
more  than  upon  anything  else.  Men  and  women  of  strong 
character,  if  they  write  at  all,  are  usually  persons  who 
write  forcefully,  earnestly,  and  convincingly.  A  writer's 
style  depends  also  upon  his  opinions,  and  no  writer  who 
does  not  think  for  himself  and  act  for  himself  can  be  said 
to  possess  individuality. 

Medical  men  have  told  us  that  in  man  physical  changes 
take  place  every  seven  years.  Similarly  changes  may  be 
said  to  take  place  in  character  and  individuality.  Some- 
times the  point  of  view  is  changed  by  travel  or  by  wide 
range  of  contact  with  one's  fellow  men.     Sometimes  opin- 

325 


326  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

ions  firmly  and  doggedly  held  for  years  are  modified  and 
often  ultimately  completely  reversed.  William  Ewart 
Gladstone  began  his  career  as  a  Conservative  (Tory)  and 
ended  it  as  a  Liberal ;  and  his  great  contemporary,  Benjamin 
Disraeli,  entered  the  House  of  Commons  as  a  Liberal  and 
left  it  a  Conservative,  which  he  remained  throughout  his 
career  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  Earl  of  Beaconsfield. 

Individuality  is  subject,  in  great  measure,  to  one's  sur- 
roundings, the  influences  of  home,  the  experiences  of  child- 
hood— for  these  often  leave  on  the  mind  indelible  impres- 
sions which  influence  the  molding  of  character  to  some 
degree. 

"Every  writer,"  says  Havelock  Ellis,  ''is  called  afresh 
to  reveal  new  strata  of  life.  By  digging  in  his  own  soul  he 
becomes  the  discoverer  of  the  soul  of  his  family,  of  his 
nation,  of  the  race,  of  the  heart  of  humanity.  For  the 
greater  writer  finds  style  as  the  mystic  finds  God,  in  his 
own  soul.  It  is  the  final  utterance  of  a  sigh,  which  none 
could  utter  before  him,  which  all  could  utter  after."  If 
you  have  something  to  say  put  your  thought  and  feeling, 
your  heart  and  soul  into  the  manner  in  which  you  say  it. 
That  is  the  way  to  stamp  your  individuality  upon  it. 

A  short  time  ago  Viscount  Morley,  addressing  a  meeting 
of  representatives  of  the  British  Imperial  Press,  said:  "I 
remember  once,  when  I  was  in  charge  of  a  newspaper,  there 
came  to  me  a  youngster  who  sought  employment,  and  I 
said,  'Have  you  any  special  quality?'  *Yes,'  he  thought 
he  had.  '"What  is  it?'  He  said,  'Invective.'  'Any  par- 
ticular form  ? '  '  No ;  general  invective. '  ' '  And  in  this 
quality  the  young  man  was  not  by  any  means  alone.  Un- 
fortunately, the  too  free  use  of  the  language  of  personal 
vituperation,  coarse  epithet  and  innuendo  has  sometimes 


INDIVIDUALITY   IN   WRITING  327 

been  mistaken  for  individuality.  Its  use  has  enabled  young 
writers  to  secure  a  measure  of  questionable  fame  which  has 
proved  a  boomerang.  They  have  found  out  that  scandal 
and  personality  are  popular,  so  they  use  pointed  insinua- 
tions, sophistry,  in  dissecting  private  characters  or  des- 
cribing fashionable  vices.  Their  efforts  seem  to  be  devoted 
to  trying  to  prove  that  ** things  are  not  what  they  seem." 
To  such  as  have  fallen  into  the  rut  of  the  scavenger's  cart 
the  best  advice  that  can  be  given  is — take  your  own  muck- 
rake and  rake  yourself  out  on  solid  ground,  and  once  there, 
stay  there. 

Just  as  in  musical  notation  there  are  notes  which  are 
sharp,  others  which  are  flat,  and  others  still  that  are 
natural,  so  there  are  individuals  who  possess  like  qualities. 
Indeed,  most  men  possess  them  but  few  know  how  to  use 
them.  Lord  Macaulay  possessed  them  and  used  them 
judiciously,  as  any  one  who  cares  to  read  his  essays  can 
see  for  himself.  But  then,  Macaulay  was  the  foremost 
essayist  of  his  time,  and  he  to-day  ranks  as  a  master  of  the 
art  of  expression.  His  scathing  denunciation  of  Bertrand 
Barere  is  a  brilliant  example  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
could  wield  a  pen  when  spurred  by  indignation.  His 
essay  on  Milton,  although  written  at  the  starting-point  of 
his  literary  fame,  was  so  brilliant  that  its  appearance  was 
felt,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  later  in  life  he 
himself  condemned  it  as  "overloaded  with  gaudy  and 
ungraceful  ornament,"  it  is  still  considered  a  masterpiece 
of  literary  skill.  Forcefulness,  brilliancy,  and  grace  were 
not  his  only  qualities  as  a  writer,  for  he  was  an  artist,  and 
painted  pictures  with  the  pen,  in  which  every  word  he  used 
blended  harmoniously.  As  poetry  his  Lays  have  never 
been  surpassed  for  natural  vigor  and  melody. 


328  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

' '  The  great  writers  of  any  school  bear  witness,  each  in  his 
own  way,  that  deeper  than  the  conventions  and  decorums 
of  style  there  is  a  law  from  which  no  writer  can  escape, 
a  law  which  he  must  needs  learn  but  can  never  be  taught. 
That  is  the  law  of  the  logic  of  thought.  All  the  conven- 
tional rules  of  the  construction  of  speech  may  be  put  aside 
if  a  writer  is  thereby  enabled  to  follow  more  closely  and 
lucidly  the  form  and  process  of  his  thought.  It  is  the  law 
of  that  logic  that  he  must  forever  follow,  and  in  attaining 
it  alone  find  rest.^ ' ' 

With  young  writers,  or  with  those  persons  who  begin  to 
write,  the  tendency  to  imitate  seems  irresistible.  Imita- 
tion may  be  the  sincerest  flattery,  but  it  is  not  individuality 
and  is  best  avoided.  Individuality  may  be  said  to  assert 
itself  in  letter-writing  more  than  in  any  other  form  of 
composition,  and  therefore  it  is  an  art  which  should  be 
cultivated  as  in  the  direct  line  toward  the  aim  in  view. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating  of  pastimes.  It  is  not  an 
exotic,  and  therefore  should  not  be  forced.  It  is  a  plant 
of  natural  growth,  and  as  such  should  be  fostered  only  by 
natural  means.  For  this  reason,  in  practising  the  art  of 
letter-writing  it  is  best  to  begin  by  addressing  oneself  to 
an  intimate  friend,  one  who  is  willing  to  read  and  com- 
petent to  point  out  such  errors  as  may  have  unconsciously 
been  committed.  It  may  seem  paradoxical  to  suggest  that 
individuality  can  assert  itself  without  the  use  of  the  personal 
pronoun,  first  person  singular,  yet  such  is  the  case;  and 
the  person  who  can  compose  a  readable  letter  without  re- 
peated reference  to  self  can  be  said  to  have  overcome  one  of 
the  principal  difficulties  that  besets  beginners. 

The  literatures  of  England  and  of  France  have  been  en- 

>  Havelock  Ellis  in   "The  Atlantic  Monthly,"   November,   1908. 


INDIVIDUALITY   IN  WRITING  329 

riched  with  the  work  of  famous  letter-writers.  The  Paston 
letters,  the  publication  of  which  earned  for  John  Fenn 
the  honor  of  knighthood,  are  a  valuable  collection  of  the 
correspondence  that  passed  between  the  members  of  the 
Paston  family  of  Norfolk  in  England  between  the  years 
1424  and  1506.  The  originals  bound  in  three  volumes  were 
presented  to  King  George  III.  by  their  editor  in  1787, 
but,  unfortunately,  have  disappeared.  ''The  Paston  let- 
ters," said  Richard  Garnett,^  "are  peculiarly  interesting 
from  the  importance,  and,  in  some  respect  the  represen- 
tative character  of  the  family  ...  In  its  broader  aspects 
the  correspondence  exhibits  human  nature  much  as  it  is 
now,  except  for  the  notable  deficiency  in  public  spirit  and 
the  absence  of  large  views  or  worthy  interests  in  life.  The 
contrast  with  our  own  times  is  instructive,  showing  how 
largely  commerce  and  literature,  art  and  travel,  have  con- 
tributed to  augment  moral  and  intellectual  as  well  as 
material  wealth." 

Pope  originated  the  literary  letter  when  in  1737  he 
issued  a  volume  of  letters  which  passed  between  his  literary 
friends  and  himself.  Lord  Chesterfield's  "Letters  to  his 
Son"  and  those  to  his  godson  and  successor  are  reckoned 
among  the  English  Classics.  James  Howell  was  one  of 
England 's  most  entertaining  letter-writers,  and  Thackeray, 
who  greatly  admired  his  work,  always  kept  a  volume  of 
Howell's  letters  by  his  bedside.  Dr.  Joseph  Jacobs  edited 
an  edition  of  Howell's  familiar  letters  in  1893.  The  letters 
of  Lady  Mary  "Wortley  Montagu,  of  Dorothy  Osborne  to 
Sir  William  Temple,  of  Dean  Swift  and  of  Horace  "Walpole 
are  worthy  to  rank  with  the  best  literature  of  their  time. 

The  perusal  of  famous  diaries,  as  those  of  Samuel  Pepys 

'  "Encyc.  Brit.,"   Vol.  XVIII.,  page  345. 


330  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

and  Madame  D'Arblay,  may  prove  instructive  as  well  as 
useful  in  the  development  of  individuality  in  writing.  The 
"Diary"  of  Pepys  is  instructive  in  that  it  depicts  in  minute 
detail  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  times  in  which  he 
lived.  It  is  amusing  in  that  the  author  quite  unconcernedly 
displays  within  its  pages  his  own  weaknesses  and  faults, 
as  well  as  the  vanities  and  extravagancies  of  the  persons 
with  whom  he  came  into  contact  as  Secretary  of  the  Ad- 
miralty during  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  of  his  ill-fated 
brother  James,  whom  William  III.  practically  drove  out 
of  England,  It  is  instructive  in  that  without  it  the  history 
of  the  Court  of  Charles  II.  could  not  have  been  written. 
Pepys  lacked  imagination  and  had  little  political  knowl- 
edge, therefore  could  only  record  the  sights  and  the  current 
gossip — this  he  did  well.  It  is  because  these  were  recorded 
without  hesitation  that  from  his  "Diary"  we  can  under- 
stand the  brilliancy  and  wickedness  of  the  Court,  as  well  as 
the  social  state  and  daily  life  of  the  bourgeois  class.^  The 
"Diary  and  Letters  of  Madame  D'Arblay"  (Frances 
Burney)  are  also  full  of  court  gossip,  but  contain  in  ad- 
dition much  spirited  dialogue  and  many  character  sketches 
marred,  however,  by  amazing  self-conceit. 

In  a  recent  criticism  of  Pepys 's  work  Havelock  Ellis*  said : 

"Pepys  wrote  his  'Diary'  at  the  outset  of  a  life  full  of 
strenuous  work  and  not  a  little  pleasure,  with  a  rare  devotion 
indeed,  but  with  a  concision  and  carelessness,  a  single  eye  on 
the  fact  itself  and  an  extraordinary  absence  of  self-conscious- 
ness, which  rob  it  of  all  claim  to  possess  what  we  convention- 
ally term  style.  Yet  in  this  vehicle  he  has  perfectly  conveyed 
not  merely  the  most  vividly  realized  and  delightfully  detailed 

»  "Encyc.  Brit.,"  Vol.  XVIII.,  page  521. 
*  "The   Atlantic  Monthly,"   November,  1908. 


INDIVIDUALITY   IN   WRITING  331 

picture  of  a  past  age  ever  achieved  in  any  language,  but  he 
has,  moreover,  painted  a  psychological  portrait  of  himself  which, 
for  its  serenely  impartial  justice,  its  subtle  gradations,  its  bold 
juxtapositions  of  color,  has  all  the  qualities  of  the  finest  Velas- 
quez. There  is  no  style  here,  we  say,  merely  the  diarist  writing 
with  careless,  poignant  vitality  for  his  own  eye;  and  yet  no 
style  that  we  could  conceive  would  be  better  fitted,  or  so  well 
fitted,  for  the  miracle  that  has  here  been  effected." 


XII 


On  the  Corruption  of  Speech 

Bad  English  is  an  offense  when  it  emanates  from  the 
uneducated;  it  is  little  short  of  a  crime  when  it  comes 
from  those  who  have  had  opportunities  for  education.  It 
is  due  to  the  care  which  we  exercise  in  teaching  the  lan- 
guage that  the  level  of  English  speech  is  higher  in  America 
than  it  is  in  England.  A  recent  visitor  to  our  shores  gave 
expression  to  the  following: 

"The  American  has  a  way  of  writing,  figuratively,  with  a 
dictionary  at  his  elbow  and  a  grammar  within  reach.  There 
are  few  educated  Englishmen  who  do  not  consider  their  own 
authority — the  authority  drawn  from  their  school  and  univer- 
sity training — superior  to  that  of  any  dictionary,  or  grammar, 
especially  of  any  American  one.  So  it  has  come  about  that, 
while  the  tendency  of  the  American  people  is  constantly  to 
become  more  exact  and  more  accurate  in  its  written  and  spoken 
speech,  the  English  tendency  is  no  less  constantly  toward  a 
growing  laxity;  and  while  the  American  has  been  sternly  and 
conscientiously  at  work  pruning  the  inelegancies  out  of  his 
language,  the  Briton  has  been  light-heartedly  taking  these  same 
inelegancies  to  himself."^ 

He  is  not  alone  in  his  view.  Professor  "Walter  "W.  Skeat, 
writing  on  "The  Problem  of  Spelling  Reform,"^  said:  "I 
lately  met  the  President  of  an  American  University,  who 
said  to  me  (I  have  no  doubt  with  perfect  truth)  :  'In  our 
universities  English  takes  first  place. '    This  is  one  of  those 

*  H.  P.  Robinson,   "The  Twentieth  Century  American." 

*  "Proceedings  of  the  British  Academy,"  Vol.  II. 

332 


ON   THE   CORRUPTION    OF   SPEECH  333 

facts  of  which  the  ordinary  Englishman  is  entirely  ignor- 
ant ;  indeed,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  him  to  imagine  how 
such  a  state  of  things  can  be  possible.  I  recommend  the 
contemplation  of  this  astounding  fact  to  your  serious  con- 
sideration. ' ' 

Compare  the  foregoing  with  what  Rudyard  Kipling  has 
written  about  the  Americans,  and  note  the  difference: 
"They  delude  themselves  into  the  belief  that  they  talk 
English — the  English — the  American  has  no  language. 
He  is  dialect,  slang,  provincialism,  accent,  and  so  forth.  "^* 
It  is  as  well  known  in  England  to-day  as  it  is  in  America, 
even  if  it  be  not  known  to  Mr.  Kipling,  that  professors  in 
American  universities,  and  other  American  scholars,  have 
done  more  than  any  other  English-speaking  people  to 
preserve  in  all  its  purity  that  "Well  of  English  undefiled" 
which  we  share  in  common. 

The  American  has  dialect,  so  have  the  British  Isles,  and 
they  have  it  almost  to  the  number  of  all  their  counties  and 
shires.  Professor  Emerson  in  his  "History  of  the  English 
Language"  says:  "Spoken  English  throughout  America  is 
more  uniform  among  all  classes,  there  being  no  such 
strongly  marked  dialects  as  in  England.  America  differs 
from  England  also  in  having  no  one  locality,  the  speech 
of  which  is  acknowledged  by  all  as  standard  usage.  The 
only  standard  recognized  in  America  is  that  of  dictionaries, 
which  attempt  to  follow,  not  one  locality,  but  the  best  usage 
of  the  country  as  a  whole. ' ' 

The  American  has  slang.  Much  slang,  American  or 
English,  is  slovenly,  incorrect,  vicious,  and  worthless;  but 
this  lives  its  little  day  and  is  soon  crowded  out  of  use  by 
the  lesser  part  which  is  virile,  expressive,  and  picturesque. 

^"American  Kotes,"   II. 


334  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

American  slang  breathes  the  atmosphere  of  thought  un- 
trammeled  by  conventionalities;  it  is  free,  forcible,  and 
vigorous,  and  to  use  the  best  of  it  is  no  longer  considered 
an  offense  to  good  taste.  To-day  Eichard  Grant  White's 
principle  that  *'in  language  everything  distinctively 
American  is  bad,"^  is  erroneous. 

Mr.  Kipling  says  that  the  American  has  '^provincialism/' 
whatever  that  may  mean.  If  Mr.  Kipling  means  that  the 
American  uses  provincialisms,  and  will  study  Dr.  Joseph 
Wright's  "English  Dialect  Dictionary,"  he  will  find  that 
there  are  others  to  whom  the  distinction  of  "provincialism" 
applies  much  more  appropriately  than  it  does  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States. 

The  American  has  accent.  For  this  he  has  reason  to  be 
thankful  because  he  knows  what  to  do  with  it.  Mr.  Robin- 
son says  the  American  people  are  to  be  envied  for  the 
homogeneity  of  their  language.  He  thinks  Stevenson 
understates  matters  when  he  says:  "You  may  go  all  over 
the  States,  and  setting  aside  the  actual  intrusion  and  in- 
fluence of  foreigners — negro,  French,  or  Chinese — you  will 
scarce  meet  with  so  marked  a  difference  of  accent  as  in 
forty  miles  between  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  or  of  dialect 
as  in  the  hundred  miles  between  Edinburgh  and  Aber- 
deen."* Mr.  Robinson  believes  this  universal  tongue — 
"this  universal  comprehensibility" — is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance to  the  nation,  and  thinks  there  is  no  way  of 
reckoning  how  much  England  has  lost  owing  to  the  fact 
that  communication  of  thought  is  practically  impossible 
between  people  who  are  neighbors. 

With  all  his  faults  as  enumerated  by  Mr.  Kipling,  the 

«  "The  Atlantic  Monthly,"  XLI,  495. 

*  H.  P.   Robinson,  "The  Twentieth  Century  American." 


ON   THE   CORRUPTION    OF   SPEECH  335 

American,  even  in  the  haste  of  affairs  which  is  a  char- 
acteristic of  his  race,  has  not  yet  reached  the  state  of  his 
English  "cousins,"  which  was  recently  described  by  a 
writer  in  "The  Bystander"  as  follows: 

Long  ago  society  unanimously  decided  to  drop  its  g's.  We 
went  huntin',  ridin',  shootin'.  Now  it  is  my  duty  to  reveal, 
we  are  threatened  with  the  mutilation  of  the  adverb.  "I  should 
be  awful  glad  to  come  if  it  wasn't  so  frightful  far,"  writes  the 
gilded  youth.  "I'm  absolute  sick  of  this  utter  boring  play," 
says  Lady  Hortense  in  the  stalls.  We  are  "fearful  pleased" 
and  "terrible  disgusted."  Last  week  we  spoke  of  a  certain 
young  lady  as  "huntin'  regular"  with  the  Quorn. 

In  treating  the  subject  of  a  Pure  Speech  League  estab- 
lished in  London,  "The  Sun"  (New  York)  said  editorially: 

No  one  knows  who  the  founders  are,  but  they  must  be 
superior  people,  for  in  a  circular  newly  published  they  allege 
that  not  more  than  one  person  in  104  speaks  real  English.  It 
is  alleged,  for  instance,  that  the  Londoners  say  oi  for  i,  whereas 
others  aver  that  they  have  never  heard  anything  resembling  oi. 
"Many  say  aw,"  writes  one  critic;  "many  say  ah,  but  in  all  the 
various  shades  and  gradations  of  Cockney  we  do  not  remember 
having  heard  oi."  A  common  Cockneyism  of  our  time  is  the 
substitution  of  i  for  o,  as  "pile"  for  pail,  "line"  for  lane,  and 
so  on ;  but  Professor  Skeat  says  he  can  well  remember  the 
shock  of  surprize  when  first  he  heard  this  singular  perversion. 
On  that  occasion  it  was  a  railway  porter  who  cried  "Myden 
Lyne,"  but  now,  according  to  Professor  Skeat,  "you  can  already 
trace  a  tendency  toward  the  Cockney  'line'  for  lane  in  the 
speech  of  many  educated  persons."  Dr.  Wright  in  his  Dic- 
tionary of  Dialect  gives  sixteen  different  pronunciations  of  the 
word  "down"  as  used  in  various  parts  of  England,  and  these 
differences  are  all  in  the  vowel  sound. 

A  German  who  spent  some  time  in  the  United  States  and 
then  returned  home  was  greatly  impressed  with  the  passion 


336  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

for  the  study  of  English  which  he  found  here:  "The  bul- 
wark of  the  American  republic  is  the  dictionary,"  he  said. 
"I  never  saw  so  many  dictionaries  in  my  life  in  any  lan- 
guage, as  I  have  seen  in  New  York.  In  homes  the  dictionary 
occupies  a  prominent  place  on  the  library  or  sitting-room 
table,  and  in  offices  it  is  frequently  the  only  literature  in 
sight.  When  I  first  began  to  make  my  acquaintance  with 
the  business  life  of  the  metropolis  I  considered  it  a  reflec- 
tion on  my  ability  as  a  linguist  when  the  office-boy  handed 
me  a  dictionary  with  which  to  while  away  the  time  while 
waiting  for  his  employer.  Later  I  found  that  Americans 
born  and  bred  improved  the  fleeting  moments  in  the  same 
manner."  It  is  different  in  England — there  dictionaries 
are  the  luxury  of  a  few.  But,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
the  habit  of  consulting  the  dictionary  frequently  is  culti- 
vated among  the  masses  in  America  far  more  than  among 
them  in  England,  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  misuse 
words  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  In  America  the 
endeavor  is  to  obtain  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  mean- 
ings of  words,  yet  despite  this  endeavor,  erroneous  and 
illiterate  forms  of  speech  abound.  Perhaps,  these  may  be 
attributed  to  an  abnormal  passion  for  novelty  which  seems 
to  dominate  the  English-speaking  races.  There  are  very 
few  persons,  even  among  those  who  would  be  shocked  at 
being  told  that  they  were  not  well  educated,  who  are  not 
given  to  cultivating,  perhaps  unconsciously,  the  vernacular 
of  the  street.  "The  English  Slanguage,"  as  one  purist 
fittingly  termed  it,  pervades  our  daily  life.  Children  dis- 
play persistent  aptitude  in  acquiring  expressive  but  un- 
cultured phrases,  and  their  parents  in  chiding  them  some- 
times make  matters  worse  by  the  way  they  set  about  it. 
"The  Philadelphia  Telegraph"  recently  printed  a  good 


ON   THE   CORRUPTION   OF   SPEECH  337 

example  of  this:  "The  other  night  at  dinner  in  West 
Philadelphia  a  little  girl  surprized  her  mother  by  saying, 
*  I'm  not  stuck  on  this  bread.'  'Margie,'  said  her  mother 
reprovingly,  'you  want  to  cut  that  slang  out.'  'That's  a 
peach  of  a  way  of  correcting  the  child,'  remarked  the 
father.  'I  know,'  replied  the  mother,  'but  I  just  wanted 
to  put  her  wise.'  " 

In  commercial  life  one  often  meets  men  who  pass  for 
educated  whose  sense  of  the  correct  use  of  words  has  been 
blunted  by  contact  with  others  who  possibly  have  not 
enjoyed  the  same  educational  advantages  as  themselves. 
They  know  good  English  when  they  hear  it,  but  seldom  use 
it.  They  seem  to  forget  that  accuracy  of  speech  and 
knowledge  of  the  true  meanings  of  words  are  essential  to 
clear  understanding.  Errors  of  speech  are  due  more  often 
to  carelessness  than  to  ignorance.  And  it  is  that  careless- 
ness which  should  be  checked. 

In  the  course  of  an  address  delivered  before  the  Prin- 
cipals '  Club  a  few  months  ago,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
New  York  Bar^  took  occasion  to  say,  "We  as  Americans 
are  noted  for  the  bad  English  that  we  use.  Now,  with  all 
due  credit  to  the  splendid  work  that  has  been  done,  and 
is  being  done  by  you  teachers,  I  would  urge  that  specimens 
of  the  finest  literature  should  be  put  into  the  hands  of  our 
school  children,  and  they  should  be  taught  to  read  them 
up  to  the  time  they  graduate  from  college.  There  is  to-day 
a  deplorable  lack  of  knowledge  of  English  literature  among 
college  graduates.  I  would  advocate  the  daily  reading  of 
good  literature  in  our  schools.  Thus  shall  we  cultivate 
a  taste  for  good  writing  and  thereby  secure  the  elimination 
of  the  ever-prevalent  slang." 

•The  Hon.  John  J.  Dolany. 


338  ESSENTIALS    OF    ENGLISH    SPEECH 

Mr.  George  J.  Smith,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Exam- 
iners of  applicants  for  teachers'  licenses  in  New  York 
City,  recently  reached  the  conclusion  that  "the  fund  of 
general  knowledge  possessed  by  the  graduates  of  our  in- 
stitutions is  discouragingly  limited,  and  in  very  many 
cases  the  command  of  the  mother  tongue  is  exceedingly 
poor."  He  found  ample  evidence  that  the  graduates  had 
done  little  reading  of  standard  works  of  literature  other 
than  those  required  in  the  course.  In  other  words,  "they 
had  not  acquired  that  habit  without  which  scholarship  and 
culture  are  impossible — the  reading  habit,  the  getting 
acquainted  with  many  informing  and  masterly  works  for 
the  pleasure  and  the  use  of  so  doing." 

This  condition  he  attributes  to  "too  little  time  and  at- 
tention" given  in  the  schools  to  reading.  He  said  that  in 
some  of  the  elementary  schools  not  more  than  100  minutes 
a  week  are  given  to  reading,  while  in  high  schools  little 
more  time  is  allotted. 

"Good  English,"  said  Dr.  Elroy  Avery  many  years 
ago,  "is  an  art  and  not  a  science ;  a  thing  of  habit  and  not 
merely  one  of  theory ;  a  matter  of  practise  rather  than  one 
of  preaching."  But  the  art  of  speaking  and  writing  good 
English  is  not  easily  acquired  in  the  face  of  such  conditions 
as  are  described  above  or  as  have  been  described  by  Pro- 
fessor Walter  Skeat.  On  the  occasion  of  millenary  cele- 
brations in  honor  of  King  Alfred  the  Great,  held  at  Win- 
chester, England,  several  years  ago,  the  Professor,  speak- 
ing of  the  history  of  the  English  language,  remarked  that 
the  number  of  students  who  have  even  an  elementary 
knowledge  of  it  is  remarkably  small.  He  added:  "I  know 
of  nothing  more  surprizing  than  this  singular  fact.  The 
history  of  English  is  just  the  one  thing  which  hardly  any 


ON  THE   CORRUPTION   OF  SPEECH  339 

schoolboy  knows.  Very  often  he  can  tell  you  the  differ- 
ence between  one  ancient  Greek  dialect  and  another,  but 
to  discriminate  between  the  English  of  Chaucer's  'Canter- 
bury Tales'  and  that  of  Barbour's  story  of  *King  Robert 
the  Bruce'  is  wholly  beyond  him.  Just  as  the  schoolboy 
is  taught  to  look  with  reverence  upon  every  Latin  and 
Greek  sentence,  so  is  he,  in  only  too  many  instances,  left 
to  his  own  devices  as  regards  his  native  tongue." 

If  such  be  the  condition  of  the  schoolboy,  what  may  one 
expect  of  those  persons  who,  in  their  day,  have  not  enjoyed 
even  the  meager  advantages  which  the  Professor  referred 
to.  It  is  to  such  as  these  that  the  writer  ventures  to  hope 
this  book  may  appeal. 

Between  the  class  that  has  acquired  a  perfect  mastery 
of  the  English  tongue  and  the  class  that  cares  little  whether 
or  not  it  speaks  or  writes  correctly,  there  is  a  third  class — 
a  vast  and  important  multitude  which  is  constantly  engaged 
in  the  culture  of  self,  that  strains  its  faculties  to  acquire 
those  attainments  which  make  for  success  in  life,  and  above 
all,  that  aims  to  secure  a  perfect  command  of  our  language. 
It  is  to  this  class,  also,  that  these  pages  may  prove  of 
interest.  In  the  use  of  English  the  reader  must  bear  in 
mind  the  fact  that  the  correctness  of  a  form  or  of  a  con- 
struction is  not  impaired  by  the  fact  that  nothing  analogous 
to  it  exists  in  the  language,  any  more  than  that  the  correct- 
ness of  a  word  is  to  be  challenged  because  there  is  no  other 
in  the  language  resembling  it  in  sound  or  spelling.  All 
rules  of  grammar  and  rhetoric  should  be  based  on  good 
usage,  for  that  is  the  only  standard  by  which  the  correct 
use  of  words  is  to  be  judged. 

"The  depravation  of  a  language  is  not  merely  a  token 
or  an  effect  of  the  corruption  of  a  people,  but  corruption 


340  ESSENTIALS  OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

is  accelerated,  if  not  caused,  by  the  perversion  and  degra- 
dation of  its  consecrated  vocabulary. ' '  So  wrote  Professor 
George  P.  Marsh  in  his  ''Lectures  on  the  English  Lan- 
guage," and  judging  from  the  forming  of  a  Pure  Speech 
League  in  London,  and  the  recent  plea  of  the  Editor  of 
"The  New  York  Times  Saturday  Review  of  Books"  for 
a  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Words  in  New  York,  one 
may  well  think  that  the  English  language  is  being  cor- 
rupted. 

Things  may  be  rotten  in  the  State  of  Denmark,  but 
English,  notwithstanding  that  it  suffers  fearfully  from 
maltreatment,  has  not  yet  reached  that  stage  of  decay  which 
the  word  * '  rotten ' '  implies.  In  the  natural  order  of  things 
speech  is  more  susceptible  to  corruption  than  writing,  be- 
cause the  greater  number  of  the  intelligent  people  are  care- 
less of  their  diction,  and  are  guilty  of  making  mistakes  in 
conversation  which  they  would  never  make  if  they  wrote 
what  they  wished  to  say.  Grammarians,  too,  have  helped 
the  work  of  misuse  along.  A  short  time  ago  Professor 
Lounsbury  pointed  out  that  we  have  no  "authoritative" 
English  grammar.  "What  is  good  English  to  an  English- 
man, may  be  bad  English  to  an  American,"  said  he,  and, 
continuing,  pointed  out  that  Sir  Philip  Burne-Jones,  in  a 
new  book  on  America,  commented  on  the  fact  that  Ameri- 
cans use  "gotten"  instead  of  "got."  And  yet  a  well- 
educated  American  girl  would  be  as  likely  to  say  "had 
went"  as  "had  got."  An  English  play  can  generally  be 
distinguished  from  an  American  play  by  the  single  fact 
that  the  actors  say  "ain't,"  something  unspeakable  in 
educated  American  circles.  The  English  people  are  not 
to  be  shamed  out  of  saying  "ain't."  They  use  it  boldly 
and  unblushingly,  declaring  it  is  all  right  and  perfectly 


ON   THE   CORRUPTION   OF   SPEECH  341 

proper,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  English  people 
say  it.  In  America  "ain't"  is  always  inelegant,  and  when 
used  is  due  more  to  carelessness  than  to  ignorance. 

Thoughtlessness  lies  at  the  root  of  that  maltreatment  of 
words  which  leads  to  the  corruption  of  their  original  sense, 
and  this  the  Editor  of  "The  Saturday  Review  of  Books" 
says  "marks  all  classes  of  authors  and,  indeed,  has  become 
almost  universal  in  both  England  and  America."  He 
quotes  the  word  "vast"  as  one  that  is  flagrantly  misused. 
"Small  of  body  but  mighty  of  soul,  its  limits  are  those  of 
a  continent,  an  ocean,  the  universe,  space  itself.  Imagine 
its  sensations  when  put  into  a  literary  scavenger's  daughter 
and  compressed  to  the  point  where  it  can  circumscribe  a 
fireplace,  a  crab,  or  a  pot  of  jam ! ' '  Another  word  which 
has  received  no  better  treatment  is  "infinite" — "a  sleeping 
bag  with  an  infinite  number  of  compartments ! "  "  Think, ' ' 
says  the  same  authority,  "of  the  sort  of  jolt  that  poor 
word  must  have  experienced,  accustomed  to  shadow  forth 
the  wisdom  of  the  Almighty,  when  forced  to  dwindle  and 
dwarf  its  majesty  to  the  description  of  a  dozen  pockets  in 
a  sleeping  bag!" 

When  the  word  "chesty"  was  given  place  in  the  dic- 
tionary the  Editor  of  "The  New  York  Herald"  told  us  that 
"words  have  been  admitted  in  the  language  that  are  not 
only  disreputable  in  origin,  not  only  offensive  in  all  their 
associations,  not  only  vulgar  in  essence,  but  unfit  at  all 
points  for  survival,"  and  all  because  the  expressive  little 
word  "chesty"  found  place  in  a  lexicon!  The  Editor  of 
"The  Herald"  may  be  right  but  was  he  not  a  little  too 
severe?  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  language  purifies 
itself  ?  Many  words  which  were  in  common  use  in  the  days 
of  Fielding  and  Smollett  are  not  accepted  as  of  sterling 


342  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

value  to-day,  and  one  does  not  need  a  divining-rod  to 
predict  that  many  words  now  in  vogue  will  find  permanent 
rest  in  some  lexicographic  mausoleum  of  the  future. 

In  considering  the  subject  under  discussion  several  years 
ago  the  Editor  of  ''The  Evening  Sun"  (New  York)  re- 
marked that  "every  now  and  then  some  one  gets  up  and 
proves  to  his  own  satisfaction  that  among  other  things 
which  are  going  to  the  dogs  is  the  English  language.  The 
appearance  of  books  written  in  slang,  in  which  the  argot 
of  the  stage,  the  race-track,  and  the  gambling-house  are 
used,  is  cited  as  good  and  sufficient  evidence  of  this.  But, 
all  this  is  quite  unscientific."  We  know  from  past  experi- 
ence that  the  slang  of  one  age  has  become  the  reputable 
language  of  another.  In  every  period  of  the  past  there 
has  been  apprehension  that  corruptions  were  pouring  into 
the  language  with  irresistible  force.  One  has  but  to  look 
back  to  the  prefaces  of  the  earlier  dictionaries  to  find  proof 
of  this  assertion. 

Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  set  out  "to  fix"  the  language; 
Addison  wished  that  "certain  men  might  be  set  apart  as 
superintendents  of  our  language,  to  hinder  any  words  of  a 
foreign  coin  passing  among  us";  Swift,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Earl  of  Oxford,  written  in  1712,  proposed  "correcting  and 
improving  it";  Dickens  deplored  the  flood  of  slang  which 
was  imported  and  incorporated  in  the  language  of  his  time. 

Sixty  years  ago  he  wrote  in  ' ' Household  Words " :  "To 
any  person  who  devotes  himself  to  literary  composition  in 
the  English  language,  the  redundancy  of  unauthorized 
words  and  expressions  must  always  be  a  source  of  unutter- 
able annoyance  and  vexation.  Should  he  take  advantage 
of  what  he  sees  and  hears  in  his  own  days  and  under  his 
own  eyes,  and  incorporate  into  his  language  those  idiomatic 


ON   THE    CORRUPTION   OF   SPEECH  343 

words  and  expressions  he  gathers  from  the  daily  affairs  of 
life  and  the  daily  conversation  of  his  fellow  men,  he  will 
have  no  lack  of  critics  to  tell  him  that  he  writes  insufferable 
vulgarity  and  slang. 

' '  You  may  hear  slang  every  day  in  term  from  barristers 
in  their  robes,  at  every  mess-table,  at  every  bar  mess,  at 
eveiy  college  commons,  in  every  club  dining-room.  Brig- 
ands, burglars,  beggars,  impostors,  and  swindlers  will  have 
their  slang  jargon  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Mariners, 
too,  will  use  the  terms  of  their  craft,  and  mechanics  will 
borrow  from  the  technical  vocabulary  of  their  trade.  And 
there  are  cant  words  and  terms  traditional  in  schools  and 
colleges,  and  in  the  playing  of  games,  which  are  orally 
authorized  if  not  set  down  in  written  lexicography.  But 
so  universal  has  the  use  of  slang  terms  become,  that,  in  all 
societies,  they  are  frequently  substituted  for,  and  have 
almost  usurped  the  place  of  wit. 

**If  we  continue  the  reckless,  and  indiscriminate  im- 
portation and  incorporation  into  our  language  of  every 
cant  term  of  speech  from  the  columns  of  American  news- 
papers, every  Canvas  Town  epithet  from  the  vocabularies 
of  gold-diggers,  every  bastard  classicism  dragged  head  and 
shoulders  from  a  lexicon  by  an  advertising  tradesman  to 
puff  his  wares,  every  slipslop  Gallicism  from  the  shelves 
of  the  circulating  library ;  if  we  persist  in  yoking  Hamlets 
of  adjectives  to  Hecubas  of  nouns,  the  noble  English  tongue 
will  become,  fifty  years  hence,  a  mere  dialect  of  colonial 
idioms,  enervated  ultramontanisms,  and  literate  slang; 
the  fertility  of  a  language  may  degenerate  into  the  fecu- 
lence of  weeds  and  tares.  Should  we  not  rather,  instead  of 
raking  and  heaping  together  worthless  novelties  of  ex- 
pression, endeavor  to  weed,  to  expurgate,    to  epurate;   to 


344  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

render,  once  more,  wholesome  and  pellucid  that  which  was 
once  a  well  of  English  undefiled,  and  rescue  it  from  the 
sewerage  of  verbiage  and  slang? 

"If  the  evil  of  slang  has  grown  too  gigantic  to  be  sup- 
pressed, let  us  at  least  give  it  decency  by  legalizing  it; 
else,  assuredly,  this  age  will  be  branded  by  posterity  with 
the  shame  of  jabbering  a  broken  dialect  in  preference  to 
speaking  a  nervous  and  dignified  language." 

The  use  of  slang  generally  betokens  imperfect  education, 
or  a  small  vocabulary,  though  men  of  good  education  fre- 
quently employ  it  in  their  ordinary  speech  to  win  the  favor 
of  the  ignorant.  This  is  a  doubtful  expedient.  A  man 
who  habitually  talks  and  writes  good  English  generally 
makes  himself  felt  more  strongly  than  the  educated  im- 
postor who  uses  bad  English  for  popularity's  sake.  But, 
slang  we  shall  have  with  us  always,  and  only  the  fittest  will 
survive. 

Professor  Brander  Matthews  has  a  good  word  to  say  for 
slang  as  a  vitalizing  element  in  our  language.  He  is 
quoted  in  "The  New  York  Herald"  as  saying:  "I  consider 
Mark  Twain  and  Rudyard  Kipling  writers  of  the  best 
English  we  have  to-day;  their  use  of  slang  is  wonderful, 
and  they  have  made  it  a  part  of  the  literature  of  the 
period."  The  people,  not  the  schoolmaster,  says  Professor 
Matthews,  give  our  tongue  its  virility.  He  continues: 
"The  English  language  belongs  to  the  people  who  speak 
it.  It  is  their  own  precious  possession,  to  deal  with  at 
their  pleasure  and  at  their  peril.  The  English  language 
has  gone  on  its  own  way,  keeping  its  strength  in  spite  of 
the  efforts  of  pedants  and  pedagogs  to  bind  it  and  to  stifle 
it,  ever  insisting  on  renewing  its  freshness  as  best  it  could. 

"This  actual  speech  of  the  people,  whether  in  Rome  or 


ON   THE   CORRUPTION   OF   SPEECH  345 

in  London  or  in  New  York,  is  the  real  language  of  which 
the  literary  dialect  is  but  a  sublimation.  Language  is  made 
sometimes  in  the  library,  it  is  true,  and  in  the  parlor  also, 
but  far  more  often  in  the  workshop  and  on  the  sidewalk; 
and  nowadays  the  newspaper  and  the  advertisement  record 
for  us  the  simple  and  undistilled  phrases  of  the  workshop. 
Most  of  these  will  fade  out  of  sight  unregretted,  but  a  few 
will  prove  themselves  possessed  of  sturdy  vitality. 

"The  ideal  of  style,  so  it  has  been  tersely  put,  is  the 
speech  of  the  people  in  the  mouth  of  the  scholar.  One 
reason  why  so  much  of  the  academic  writing  of  educated 
men  is  arid  is  because  it  is  as  remote  as  may  be  from 
the  speech  of  the  people.  One  reason  why  Mark  Twain 
and  Rudyard  Kipling  are  now  the  best-beloved  authors 
of  the  English  language  is  because  they  have,  each  of  them, 
a  welcome  ear  for  the  speech  of  the  people." 

There  are  not  many  persons  who  will  deny  the  vigor  of 
Mr.  Kipling's  English,  but  there  will  be  many  who  will 
disagree  with  Professor  Matthews  when  he  classes  Mr. 
Kipling  among  the  "writers  of  the  test  English  we  have 
to-day,"  for  much  of  Mr.  Kipling's  work  is  marred  by 
faulty  English.  Although  his  style  is  pellucid  to  trans- 
parency, yet  his  dwelling-place  is  of  that  exceedingly  brittle 
kind  which  makes  it  an  unsafe  haven  from  which  to  assail 
the  quality  of  the  English  used  by  the  educated  American. 

In  a  recent  essay  entitled  ' '  The  Test  of  Language, ' '  Miss 
Phyllis  Dale  relates  that  she  received  a  letter  from  a 
mother  begging  her  to  write  on  the  intemperate  language 
used  by  many  young  girls  to-day.  The  distressed  mother 
wrote:  "It  is  hard  to  keep  correcting  and  nagging  children, 
and  yet  the  expressions  that  my  girls  and  their  friends — 
all  high-school  students — make  use  of  make  me  look  back 


346  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

with  reverence  to  my  own  convent  school-days.  To  be 
sure,  I  was  not  well  versed  in  the  'ologies  and  'ometries 
when  I  graduated,  but  I  certainly  did  not  call  things 
'terribly  nice'  or  'awfully  pretty'  or  puzzle  my  hearers 
with  the  ridiculous  exaggerations  of  speech  which  seem  a 
fashion  nowadays."  This  intemperance  Miss  Dale  justly 
condemns  and  adds:  "Language  affects  sensitive  persons 
like  music.  If  it  is  well  chosen  and  clearly  expressed  it  is 
a  sensuous  delight  to  listen  to,  whereas  if  it  is  marred  by 
grammatical  errors  and  harshened  by  provincialisms,  it  jars 
upon  one's  sensibilities  as  discordant  strains  of  music. 

"Exaggeration  is  a  peculiarly  infectious  mania  of  the 
moment.  There  is  a  picturesque  extravagance  of  speech 
which  is  sometimes  very  effective,  but  it  is  the  exaggeration 
of  the  fairy  story  and  the  wonder  book,  and  is  not  in  the 
least  degree  misleading. 

"The  exaggerating  girl  has  milder  and  less  effective 
methods.  If  she  has  a  headache  she  tells  you  that  she  is 
in  'agony,'  or  that  she  'will  go  crazy.'  If  she  speaks  of 
a  rich  acquaintance  he  figures  as  a  person  of  vast  wealth 
or  comes  under  the  general  head  of  'millionaire'  Every 
one  who  has  an  automobile  and  a  fine  house  and  money  to 
spend  figures  as  a  'millionaire'  in  the  average  girl's  con- 
versation. She  tells  of  a  'terrible  accident'  that  has  taken 
place  around  the  corner.  You  investigate  and  find  that 
a  cab  horse  has  fallen  down  and  frightened  two  women 
who  were  in  the  cab. ' ' 

Popular  perversions  are  in  some  degree  responsible  for 
the  misuse  of  words.  Professor  Lounsbury  has  cited  one 
commented  upon  by  Fitzedward  Hall  as  follows:  "While 
one  is  surprized  to  hear,  for  example,  'I  done  it'  from  any 
American  but  the  most  illiterate,  one  may  often  hear  it  in 


ON   THE   CORRUPTION   OF   SPEECH  347 

England  from  persons  not  very  far  below  the  rank  of 
gentlemen. ' '  That  the  Professor  does  not  deem  Fitzedward 
Hall  an  unassailable  authority  will  prove  a  source  of  satis- 
faction to  many  Englishmen  who,  like  the  writer,  have 
never  heard  the  expression  used  in  England,  although  they 
have  come  into  contact  with  farmers,  mechanics,  the  middle 
class,  and  the  class  with  handles  to  their  names.  Apropos 
of  this  expression  the  following  anecdote,  culled  from 
"Lippincott's  Magazine,"  shows  that  the  use  of  "I  done  it" 
is  not  unknown  in  the  United  States.  A  young  woman  of 
the  official  set  in  "Washington  at  a  public  function  found 
herself  bored  by  the  attentions  of  a  "fresh"  young  man,  the 
son  of  a  Senator.  Soon  after  his  introduction  he  proceeded 
to  regale  her  with  a  story  of  some  adventure  in  which  he 
had  figured  as  hero.  ' '  Did  you  really  do  that  ? ' '  she  asked, 
not  knowing  what  else  to  say.  * '  I  done  it ! "  was  the  proud 
response,  and  he  began  forthwith  another  lengthy  narrative, 
more  startling  even  than  the  first.  The  young  woman 
again  politely  expressed  her  surprize.  "Yes,"  said  the 
hero,  "that's  what  I  done!"  A  third  story  followed,  with 
another  "I  done  it!"  whereupon  the  girl  remarked:  "Do 
you  know  you  remind  me  so  strongly  of  Banquo's  ghost  in 
the  play."  "Why?"  "Don't  you  remember  that  Mac- 
beth said  to  the  ghost :  *  Thou  canst  not  say  I  did  it ! '  " 

Professor  Lounsbury  is  not  seriously  apprehensive  of  the 
general  corruption  of  the  English  tongue.  The  same  cry 
has  been  raised  frequently  in  the  last  three  centuries,  but 
the  language  has  survived  in  spite  of  it.  "No  matter  how 
many  of  these  so-called  corruptions  creep  in,"  says  the 
Professor,  "no  fear  need  be  entertained  that  the  language 
is  going  to  ruin  in  consequence.  The  result  depends  on 
agencies  entirely  different  from  those  which  affect  the  for- 


348  ESSENTIALS   OF  ENGLISH   SPEECH 

mation  of  words,  the  rules  of  syntax,  or  the  construction 
of  sentences." 

Our  language  is  so  plastic  a  medium  for  the  expression 
of  thought  that  it  may  be  said  to  adapt  itself  to  the  needs, 
intellectual  and  material,  of  the  persons  who  use  it.  It 
develops  with  their  development  and  degenerates  with  their 
decay.  None  but  the  conservative  influence  of  the  men 
of  letters  can  check  its  decline.  Corruptions  in  the  use  of 
words  there  undoubtedly  are,  and  there  will  continue  to 
be.  One  does  not  need  to  go  much  further  than  the  street 
to  find  them,  but  they  do  not  exist  in  such  proportion  as 
to  give  grammarians,  lexicographers,  or  purists  cause  for 
alarm.  These  corruptions  are  due  sometimes  to  mere 
accidental  misuse  (as,  "Where  am  I  at?")  ;  to  the  affecta- 
tions or  the  caprices  of  society;  to  local  conditions;  to 
political  influences,  and  even  to  translations  from  foreign 
languages  in  which  words  are  often  incorrectly  made  to 
do  service  for  others  through  the  linguistic  limitations  of 
the  translator.  Sooner  or  later  such  corruptions  must  all 
undergo  that  natural  process  of  refining  to  which  English 
words  are  subjected  before  they  are  accepted  as  measuring 
up  to  the  required  standard.  In  the  meantime,  however, 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  educated  man  and  woman  to  check 
their  spread  and  to  lead  those  who  use  them  back  to  that 
well  of  English  undefiled  from  which  they  can  draw  speech 
in  all  its  limpid  purity. 


APPENDIX 


349 


A  Partial  List  of  British  and  American  Authors 

Adv. — adventure;  alleg. — allegory;  ast. — astronomy;  biog. — 
biography;  ess. — essay;  hist. — history;  huvi. — humor;  lexicog. — lexi- 
cography ;  lit. — literary ;  mis. — miscellaneous ;  math. — mathematics ; 
nat. — nature  study;  nov. — novel;  philos. — philosophy;  philol. — phil- 
ology; poet. — poetry;  pol. — politics;  print. — printing;  sci. — science; 
soc. — sociology ;    theol. — theology ;    trans. — translation ;    trav. — travel. 

Name             Type  of  Worh             Chief  Worlcs  ^  Dates  Born-Died 

Abbott,  Jacob,    (Nov.),  Bollo  Books 1803-1879 

Abbott,  John  S.  C.  (Hist.  &  Biog.),  Hist,  of  Napoleon  III.  1805-1877 
Abbott,  Lyman,    (Biog.  &  Mis.),  Life  of  Henry   Ward 

Beecher 1835- 

Acton,  Lord,  (Hist.),  Cambridge  Modern  History  .      .      .  1834-1902 
Adams,  Brooks,    (Hist.   &   Ess.),   The  Emancipation   of 

Massachusetts 1848- 

Adams,  Charles  F.,  (Hist.  &  Ess.),  Railroads:  their  Origin 

and  Problems 1835-1915 

Adams,  Henry,   (Hist.  &  Biog.),  Hist,  of  United  States  1838- 
Adams,  "William     Taylor,      ("Oliver     Optic"),     Young 

America   Abroad 1822-1897 

Addison,  Joseph,  (Ess.),  The  Spectator 1672-1719 

Ainger,   Canon    Alfred,    (Biog.    &    Ess.),    Biography    of 

Charles  Lamb  (English  Men  of  Letter  Series)   .  1837-1904 
Ainsworth,  William  Harrison,  (Nov.),  The  Tower  of  Lon- 
don          1805-1882 

Akenside,  Mark,  (Poet),  Pleasures  of  the  Imagination     .  1721-1770 

Alcott,  Louisa  May,  (Nov.,  Juveniles),  Little  Women       .  1832-1888 

Alcuin,    (Theol.,  Hist.  &  Poet),  Epistles 735-804 

Aldhelm,  (Poet),  Latin  Poems ?640-709 

Aldrich,    Thomas    Bailey,    (Poet   &   Drama),    Prudence 

Palfrey 1836-1907 

Alfred,    (Trans.,    Saxon    Poems),    Trans,    of    Bocthius 

Consolation  of  Philosophy 849-901 

Alfred  of  Rievaulx,  (Hist.),  Account  of  the  Battle  of  the 

Standard,  1138     1109-1166 

Alfric,    (Archbishop    of    Canterbury),    Homilies,    Latin 

Grammar ?  -1006 

Alison,  Sir  Archibald,  (Hist.  &  Biog.),  History  of  Europe  1792-1867 
Allen,  Grant,  (Nov.  &  Ess.),  The  Evolution  of  the  Idea  of 

God 1848-1899 

Allen,  James  Lane,   (Nov.),  The  Choir  Invisible   .      .      .  1848- 
Allibone,  Samuel  Austin,  A  Critical  Dictionary  of  English 

Literature  and  Authors 1816-1889 

351 


352  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name             Type  of  WorTc             Chief  WorTcs  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

AUingham,  William,  (Poet),  Day  and  Night  Songs  .      .  1824-1889 

Allston,  Washington,  (Poet),  Sylphs  of  the  Seasons  .      .  1779-1843 
Andrew  of   Wyntoun,    (Hist.),   Orygynale    Cronykil    of 

Scotland 1350-1420 

Anstey,  F.     See  Guthrie 

Arnold,  Sir  Bdwin,  (Poet),  The  Light  of  Asia  .      .     .     .  1832-1904 

Arnold,  Matthew,  (Poet  &  Mis.),  Essays  in  Criticism       .  1822-1888 

Arnold,  Thomas   (Hist.),  Rist.  of  Borne   (Unfinished)    .  1795-1842 

Ascham,  lloger,  (Sport),  Toxophilus 1515-1568 

Ashe,  Thomas,  (Poet),  London  Lyrics 1836-1889 

Asser,  (Hist.),  Life  of  Alfred  the  Great  .      .      .      .      d.  about  910 
Audubon,  John  James,  (Nat.),  The  Birds  of  America   .  1780-1851 
Aungervyle,    Richard,    ("Richard    de   Bury"),    (Biblio- 
phile), Philobiblon 1281-1345 

Austen,  Jane,   (Nov.),  Sense  and  Sensibility  ....  1775-1817 

Austin,  Alfred,  (Poet),  English  Lyrics 1835-1913 

Bacon,   Francis,    (Philos.),  Essays    (1597),  Novum  Or- 

ganum    (1620)    1561-1626 

Bagehot,  Walter,  (Philos.),  Physics  and  Politics  .      .      .  1826-1877 
Baillie,    Joanna,     (Poet    &    Drama),    Dramatic    WorTcs 

(1798),  Poetical    Works    (1823) 1763-1851 

Baker,  Sir  Richard,    (Hist.   &  Poet),  Chronicles  of  the 

Kings   of   England 1568-1645 

Bale,  John,  (Hist.  &  Drama),  Lives  of  British  Writers  .  1495-1564 
Balfour,  Arthur  James,  (Pol.  &  Philos.),  Foundations  of 

Belief         1848- 

Ball,  Sir  Robert,   (Sci.),  Story  of  the  Heavens   .      .      .  1840-1913 
Ballantyne,  R.  M.,  (Nov.  &  Travel,  Juveniles),  Tale  of  the 

Oregon  Gold  Fields 1825-1894 

Bancroft,  George,  (Hist.),  History  of  the  United  States  1800-1891 

Banim,  John,  (Nov.),  Tales  of  the  O'Hara  Family  .      .  1800-1842 
Banks,    Sir   Joseph,    (Nat.),    Circumstances    Relative    to 

Merino  Sheep 1743-1820 

Barbauld,  Mrs.  Anna  L.,   (Poet  &  Ess.),    The  Death  of 

the   Virtuous 1743-1825 

Barham,  Richard  Harris,  (Hum.),  The  Ingoldsby  Legends  1788-1845 
Baring-Goukl,  Sabine,  (Nov.  &  Mis.),  Curious  Myths  of 

the  Middle  Ages 1834- 

Barlow,  Joel,    (Poet),   The   Vision  of  Columbus    .      .      .  1755-1812 
Barrie,  James   Matthew,    (Nov.   &   Drama),   Auld   Licht 

Idylls  (1888),  Peter  Pan  (1904) 1860- 

Barrow,  Isaac.  (Theol.  &  Math.),  Methods  of  Tangents  .  1630-1677 

Bates,  Arlo,   (Nov.  &  Poet),   The  Pagans 1850- 

Baxter,  Andrew,   (Philos.),  A71  Enquiry  into  the  Nature 

of  the  Human  Said 1686-1750 

Baxter,  Richard,  (Theol.),  I'he  Saiiit's  Everlasting  Rest  .  1615-1691 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  353 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 

Bayly,  Ada  Ellen,  ("Edna  Lyall"),  (Nov.),  Donovan  .  1857-1903 
Bayly,   Thomas   Haynes,    (Poet    &    Songs),     Weeds    of 

Witchery 1797-1839 

Beattie,  James,  (Poems  &  Ess.),  The  Minstrel       .      .      .  1735-1803 
Beckford,   William,    (Lit.),   The  History   of   the   Caliph 

Fathek       1760-1844 

Beaumont,  Francis,  (Drama),  The  Woman  Hater       .      .  1584-1616 

Beddoes,  Thomas,  (Sci.  &  Mis.),  History  of  Isaac  Jenkins  1760-1808 
Beudoes,  Thomas  Lovell,   (Drama  &  Poet),  The  Bride's 

Tragedy     1803-1849 

Beda,    (Hist.    &    Theol.),   Ecclesiastical   History   of   the 

English  Nation 672-735 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  Life  of  Christ 1813-1887 

Bell,  Sir  Charles,  (Anatomy),  System  of  Dissections  .      .  1774-1842 
Bellamy,  Edward,  (Soc.  &  Mis.),  Looking  Backward  .      .  1850-1898 
Belloc,  Hilaire,  (Nov.  &  Mis.),  Emmanuel  Burden,  Mer- 
chant       1870- 

Bennett,  Arnold,  (Nov.),  The  Old  Wives'  Tale  ....  1867- 

Bensou,  Arthur  C,  (Ess.),  From  a  College  Wiiidoio  .      .  1862- 

Benson,  Edward  F.,  (Nov.),  Dodo 1867- 

Bentham,  Jeremy,  (Philos.  &  Legal),  Principles  of  Morals 

and  Legislation 1748-1832 

Bentley,  Richard,    (Theol.),  Dissertations    (2)    upon  the 

Epistles  of  Phalaris 1662-1742 

Benton,  Thomas  Hart,  (Hist.  &  Pol.),  Thirty  Years  View  1782-1858 
Berkeley,  George,  (Philos.),  Principles  of  Human  Knowl- 
edge        1684-1753 

Besant,  Sir  Walter,  (Nov.),  All  Sorts  and  Conditions  of 

Men 1836-1901 

Beverley,  Robert,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  Present  State  of 

Virginia about  1675-1716 

Bigelow,  John,  (Biog.  &  Pol.),  Life  of  Benjamin  Franklin  1817-1911 

Binyon,  Laurence,   (Poet),  The  Death  of  Adam   .      .      .  1869- 
Bishop,  William  Henry,  (Nov.),  The  House  of  a  Merchant 

Prince         1847- 

Black,  William,  (Nov.),  Yolande 1841-1898 

Blackmore,  R.  D..  (Nov.),  Lorna  Doone 1825-1900 

Blackstone,  Sir  William,   (Legal),  Commentaries  of  the 

Laws  of  England 1723-1780 

Blair,  Hugh,  (Theol.  &  Lit.),  Sermons 1718-1800 

Blair,  Robert,    (Poet),   The   Grave 1699-1747 

Blake,  William,  (Poet),  Songs  of  Innocence  and  Experi- 
ence         1757-1828 

Blessington,  Countess  of,    (Nov.  &  Mis.),  Conversations 

with  Lord  Byron 1789-1849 

Blind,  Mathilde,  (Poet),  The  Ascent  of  Man  ....  1841-1896 

Bloomfield,  Robert,  (Poet),  Farmer's  Boy 1766-1823 


354  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name  Type  of  WorTc  Chief  WorTcs  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

Blunt,  Wilfrid  Scawen,  (Poet),  Sonnets  and  Songs  .      .  1840- 
Boker,   George   H.,    (Poet   &   Drama),   Anne   Boleyn,   a 

Tragedy      1824-1890 

Bolingbroke,     Henry     St.     John,      (Lord     Bolingbroke) , 

(Pol.  &  Lit.),  Letters  on  the  Study  of  History  1678-1751 

Bonnycastle,  John,  (Math.),  Elements  of  Geometry   .      .  1750-1821 

Boswell,  James,  (Biog.),  Life  of  Johnson 1740-1795 

Bourchier,  John,  (Baron  Berners),   (Trans.),  Froissart's 

Chronicle 1469-1532 

Boyle,  Bohert,  (Sei.  &  Fhilos.) ,  Skeptical  Chemist  .      .      .  1627-1691 
Brackenridge,    Hugh    Henry,    (Poet),    Rising    Glory    of 

America 1748-1816 

Braddon,  Mary  Elizabeth,  (Mrs.  John  Maxwell),  (Nov.), 

Lady  Audley's  Secret 1837-1915 

Bradford,  William,  (Hist.  &  Theol.),  History  of  Plymouth 

People  and  Colony 1590-1657 

Bradley,  Andrew  Cecil,  (Ess.  &  Critic),  A  Commentary  on 

Tennyson's  in  Memoriam 1851- 

Bradstreet,  Mrs.  Anne,  (Poet),  Poems 1612-1672 

Brady,  Cyrus   Townsend,    (Nov.),  Stephen  Decatur    .      .  1861- 
Bret  Harte,  Francis,  (Hum.  &  Nov.),  The  Luck  of  Soar- 
ing Camp 1839-1902 

Bridges,  Eobert,  (Poet  &  Drama),  The  Growth  of  Love  .  1844- 

Bright,  James  Franck,   (Hist.),  A  History  of  England  .  1832- 
Brodhead,  John  Komeyn,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  State  of 

New  York,  1609-1691 1814-1873 

Bronte,  Charlotte,   (Nov.),  Jane  Eyre 1816-1855 

Brooke,  Henry,  (Poet  &  Nov.),  The  Fool  of  Quality  .      .  1706-1783 
Brooke,  Stopford  Augustus,  (Theol.  &  Ess.),  Freedom  in 

the  Church  of  England 1832- 

Brougham,  Lord  Henry,  (Pol.  &  Hist.),  Sketches  of  the 

Statesmen  of  the  Time  of  George  III.   .      .      .  1778-1868 

Broughton,  Ehoda,   (Nov.),  Nancy 1840- 

Brown,  Chas.  Brockden,   (Nov.),  Wieland 1771-1810 

Brown,   George   Douglas,    (Nov.),    The   House   with   the 

Green  Shutters 1869-1902 

Brown,  Thomas  Edward,  (Poet),  Fo'c'sle  Yarns  .     .      .  1830-1897 
Browne,     Charles     F.,     ("Artemus     Ward"),     (Hum.), 

Artemus   Ward,  his  Book 1834-1867 

Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  (Sci.  &  Mis.),  Beligio  Medici  .      .  1605-1682 

Browning,  Elizabeth  Barrett,  (Poet),  Aurora  Leigh  .      .  1809-1861 

Browning,  Eobert,   (Poet  &  Drama),  Paracelsus   .      .      .  1812-1889 
Bruce,  James,  (Travels),  Travels  to  Discover  the  Source 

of   the   Nile 1730-1794 

Bryan,  William  Jennings,   (Pol.   &  Soc),  Speeches   .      .  1860- 

Bryant,  William  CuUen,  (Poet),  Thanatopsis  ....  1794-1878 


A    PARTIAL    LIST    OF    AUTHORS  355 

Name  Type  of  WorTc  Chief  WorTcs  ^  Bates  Born-Died 

Bryce,  James,  Viscount,   (Hist.  &  Pol,),   The  American 

Commonwealth 1838- 

Brydges,  Sir  Samuel  E.,  (Poet  &  Ess.),  Sonnets  and  Poems  1762-1837 

Buchanan,  George,  (Hist.  &  Poet),  History  of  Scotland  .  1506-1582 

Buchanan,  Robert,  (Poet  &  Nov.),  God  and  the  Man       .  1841-1901 

Bullen,  Frank  Thomas,  (Nov.),  The  Cruise  of  the  Cachalot  1857- 
Bulwer-Lytton,  Edward,  (Lord  Lytton),  (Poet  &  Nov.), 

Pelham 1805-1873 

Bulwer-Lytton,    Edward    Robert,    ("Owen    Meredith"), 

(Poet),  Lucile 1831-1891 

Bunner,  Henry  Cuyler,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  The  Story  of  a  New 

York   House 1855-1896 

Bunyan,  John,  (Allegory),  The  Pilgrim's  Progress   .      .  1628-1688 

Burgess,  Thomas,  (Theol.),  Hebrew  Elements  ....  1756-1837 

Burgess,  Gelett,  (Hum.),  The  Purple  Cow 1866- 

Burke,   Edmund,    (Pol.   &   Ess.),   The  Sublime   and   the 

Beautiful         1729-1797 

Burnet,  Gilbert,  (Hist.) ,  History  of  the  Reformation  .      .  1643-1715 

Burnett,  Frances  Hodgson  (Nov.),  Little  Lord  Fauntleroy  1849- 

Burney,  Charles,  (Mus.  Hist.),  General  History  of  Music  1726-1814 

Burney,  Frances,    (Madame  D'Arblay),    (Nov.),  Evelina  1752-1840 
Burns,  Robert,  (Poet),  The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night,  Tam 

O'Shanter,  The  Unco  Guid 1759-1790 

Burroughs,  John,  (Nat.  &  Ess.),  Winter  Sunshine  .      .      .  1837- 
Burton,  Sir  Richard,  (Travel  &  Mis.),  Pilgrimage  to  El- 

Medinah  and  Mecca 1821-1890 

Burton,  Robert,  (Philos.),  The  Anatomy  of  Melancholy  .  1576-1640 

Bury,  John  B.,  (Hist.),  History  of  Greece 1861- 

Bushnell,   Horace,    (Theol.   &   Philos.),  Nature   and   the 

Supernatural    1802-1876 

Butler,  Ellis  Parker,  (Nov.),  Pigs  is  Pigs 1869- 

Butler,  Joseph,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  Analogy  of  Religion  .  1692-1752 

Butler,  Samuel,    (Poet),  Hudibras 1612-1680 

Butler,  Samuel,   (Nov.),  Erewhon 1835-1902 

Butler,  William  Allen,  (Nov.  &  Hum.),  Nothing  to  Wear  1825-1902 

Byron,  Lord,    (Poet),   Childe  Harold 1788-1824 

Cable,  George  W.,  (Nov.),  OW  Creole  Pays 1844- 

Caedmon,  (Poet),  Saxon  Poems -680 

Caine,  Hall,  (Nov.),  The  Manxman 1853- 

Caird,  Edward,  (Philos.  &  Theol.),  Evolution  of  Beligion  1835-1908 
Caird,  John,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  An  Introduction  to  the 

Philosophy  of  Beligion 1820-1898 

Calverley,  Charles  Stuart,  (Poet),  Fly  Leaves  ....  1831-1884 

Camden,   William,    (Hist.),   Britannia 1551-1623 

Campbell,  Thomas  (Poet),  The  Pleasures  of  Hope  (1799), 

Gertrude  of  Wyoming  (1809) 1777-1844 

Capes,  Bernard,  (Nov.),  The  Secret  in  the  Hill  .      .      .  Modern 


356  ESSENTIALS   OF  ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name             Type  of  Worlc             Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 
Carew,  Thomas,   (Poet),  He  that  Loves  a  Bosy  Cheek  11589-1639 
Carey,  Henry,   (Poet),  Sally  in  our  Alley       ....  1700-1743 
Carey,  Henry  Charles,  (Econ.  &  Mis.),  Principles  of  Polit- 
ical Economy 1793-1879 

Carleton,   William,    (Nov.),    Traits   and   Stories   of   the 

Irish  Peasantry 1794-1869 

Carleton,  Will,  (Poet),  Farm  Ballads 1845-1912 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  (Hist.  &  Ess.),  ASorf or  iJesortiM  .      .      .  1795-1881 

Carte,   Thos.,    (Hist.),  Hist,   of  England 1686-1754 

Cary,  Henry  F.,   (Poet),  Translation  of  Dante's  Divina 

Commedia 1772-1844 

Castell,  Edmund,    (Orientalist  &  Poet),  Lexicon  Eepta- 

glotton,    etc 1606-1685 

Cavendish,  George,  (Biog.),  Life  of  Cardinal  Wolsey  .      .  1500-1562? 

Caxton,  William,  (Hist.),  History  of  Troy 1423-1491 

Chalmers,  Geo.,   (Hist.),  Political  Annals 1742-1825 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  (Theol.  &  Philoa.),  Political  Economy  1780-1847 
Chanler,  Amelie  Eives.    See  Rives. 

Channing,  William  Ellery,   (Poet  &  Biog.),  Thoreau       .  1818-1901 
Chapman,  George,   (Poet  &  Drama),  Ovid's  Banquet  of 

Sence 1557-1634 

Chatterton,   Thomas,    (Poet),  Poems 1752-1770 

Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  (Poet),  Canterbury  Tales  .      .  1328  or  1340-1400 

Chesterton,  Gilbert  K.,    (Nov.),  Heretics 1874- 

Cheyne,  Canon  Thomas  K.,  (Theol.),  Job  and  Solomon  .  1841-1915 
Child,  Prances  James,  (Lit.),  Edited,  English  and  Scottish 

Popular  Ballads 1825-1896 

Chillingworth,  William,  (Theol.),  The  Religion  of  Protes- 
tants       1602-1644 

Cholmondeley,   Mary,    (Nov.),   Bed   Pottage    ....  Modern 
Church,  Richard  William,   (Dean  of  St.  Paul's)    (Hist., 

Biog.  &  Mis.),  Anselm 1815-1890 

Churchill,  Winston,  (Nov.),  The  Crisis 1871- 

Churchill,  Rt.  Hon.  Winston,  (Biog.),  Life  of  Lord  Ran- 
dolph  Churchill 1874- 

Clarendon,  Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of,    (Hist.),  History  of 

the  Bebellion  and  Civil  Wars  in  England   .      .  1608-1674 
Clarke,  Adam,    (Theol.  &  Mis.),  A  Bibliographical  Dic- 
tionary         1763-1833 

Clarke,    Edward   Daniel,    (Travels),    Travels   in   Europe, 

Asia   and  Africa 1769-1822 

Clarke,  James  Freeman,  (Theol.),  Ten  Great  Religions  .  1810-1888 
Clarke,  Samuel,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  Three  Practical  Essays 

on  Baptism,  Confirmation  and  Repentance    .      .  1675-1729 
Clemens,  Samuel  L.,   ("Mark  Twain"),    (Hum.),  Inno- 
cents  Abroad 1830-1910 

Clifford,  Mrs.  W.  K.,  (Nov.  &  Drama),  The  Modern  Way  Modern 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF   AUTHORS  357 

Name             Type  of  Work             Chief  Works  4"  Dates  Born-Died 
Clodd,  Edward,  (PhUos.  &  Mis.),  The  Story  of  the  Creation  1840- 
Cobbett,  William,  (Pol.  &  Ess.),  Bural  Bides  (1825),  Cot- 
tage Economy    (1822),  America 1762-1835 

Coke,  Sir  Edward,    (Legal),  Institutes  of  the  Laws  of 

England 1552-1632 

Coleridge,  Samuel  T.,     (Poet  &  Philos.),    The    Ancient 

Mariner 1772-1834 

Collier,  Jeremy,   (Theol.  &  Mis.),  Essays    upon    Several 

Moral  Subjects 1650-1726 

Collins,  J.  Churton,  (Ess.  &  Critic),  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds 

as  a  Portrait  Painter 1848-1908 

Collins,  William,   (Poet),  The  Passions 1721-1756 

Collins,  Wm.  Wilkie,  (Nov.),  The  Woman  in  White  .      .  1824-1889 

Colman,  George,  (Drama  &  Trans.),  The  Jealous  Wife  .  1733-1794 
Colvin,  Sir  Sidney,  (Biog.  &  Ess.),  Keats,  English  Men  of 

Letters  Series 1845- 

Congreve,  William,  (Drama),  The  Mourning  Bride   .      .  1670-1729 

Conington,   John,    (Trans.),    Vergil's  2Eneid    ....  1825-1869 

Conrad,  Joseph,  (Nov.),  The  Nigger  of  the  Narcissus   .  1857- 
Conway,  Sir  (William)  Martin,  (Travel  &  Ess.),  iV^o  Man's 

Land 1856- 

Cook,  Captain  James,    (Travel),   Three   Voyages  Bound 

the   World 1728-1779 

Cooke,  John  Esten,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  Last  of  the  Foresters  1830-1886 

Cooper,  J.  Fenimore,  (Nov.),  The  Spy 1789-1851 

Corelli,  Marie,  (Nov.),  Romance  of  Two  Worlds  .      .      .  1864- 
Cotton,  John,   (Theol.),  The  Keyes  to  the  Kingdom  of 

Heaven,  and  the  Power  thereof 1585-1652 

Cotton,  Sir  Robert  Bruce,  (Hist.  &  Pol.),  Life  and  Baigne 

of    Henry    III i      .      .  1570-1631 

Courthope,  William  J.,   (Hist.  &  Biog.),  History  of  En- 
glish Poetry 1842- 

Coverdale,    Miles,    (Theol.),   First     Translation    of    the 

Entire  Bible 1487-1568 

Cowley,  Abraham,    (Poet),  Pindaric   Odes    (1656),   The 

Mistress    (1656)         1618-1667 

Cowper,  William,  (Poet),  The  Task  (1785),  Letters  .      .  1731-1800 

Coxe,  William,  (Hist.),  History  of  the  House  of  Austria  1747-1828 

Crabbe,  George,  (Poet),  The  Parish  Register  ....  1754-1832 
Craigie,    Mrs.    ("John    Oliver   Hobbes"),    (Nov.),    The 

School   for  Saints 1867-1906 

Craik,  Mrs.  Dinah  Maria  (Nov.),  John  Halifax,  Gentleman  1826-1887 
Cranch,  Christopher  Pearse,  (Poet),  Last  of  the  Hugger- 
muggers      1813-1892 

Cranmer,  Thomas,  (Theol.),  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer 

(1.549),    Translation  of   the  Bible    (1540)    .      .  1489-1556 

Crawford,  F.  Marion,   (Nov.),  Mr.  Isaacs 1854-1909 


358  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 

Creighton,  Mandell,  (Hist.),  History  of  the  Papacy  .      .  1843-1901 

Crockett,  Samuel  Eutherford,   (Nov.),  The  Eaiders   .      .  1860- 

Croly,  George,  (Poet  &  Mis.),  Catiline 1780-1860 

Cronwright-Schreiner,  Mrs.  ("Olive  Schrerner"),  (Nov.), 

The  Story  of  an  African  Farm 1863- 

Cudworth,  Ralph,  (Philos.  &  Mis.),  The  True  Intellectual 

System  of  the  Universe 1617-1688 

Cumberland,  Richard,  (Drama  &  Mis.),  Memoirs  .      .      .  1732-1811 

Cunninghame-Graham,  Robert  B.,   (Trav.  &  Nov.),  Ipane  1852- 
Curtis,  George  Ticknor,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  Constitution 

of  the  United  States 1812-1894 

Curtis,  George  William,  (Nov.  &  Mis.),  Prue  and  I  .      .  1824-1892 

Cynewulf,  (Poet),  Beligious  Poems 8th  Cent. 

Dale,  Robert  William,  (Theol.),  The  Atonement   .      .      .  1829-1895 
Dalton,  John  C,   (Sci.),  New  System  of  Chemical  Phil- 
osophy          1767-1844 

Dalton,  John  C,   (Sci.),  Human  Physiology   ....  1825-1889 
Dana,  Charles  Anderson,  (Encyclopedist  &  Mis.),  Edited 

Appleton's  American  Cyclopedia         ....  1819-1897 

Dana,  Richard  Henry,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  The  Idle  Man  .      .  1787-1879 
Dana,  Richard  Henry,  Jr.,    (Nov.   &  Mis.),   Two   Tears 

Before  the  Mast 1815-1882 

Danby,  Frank,   (Nov.),   (Mrs.  Julia  Frankau),  Dr.  Phil- 
lips, a  Maida  Vale  Idyll;  Eighteenth  Century 

Color  Prints 1864-1916 

Daniel,  Samuel,  (Poet),  Sonnets 1562-1619 

Daniell,  John  F.,   (Sci.),  Meteorological  Essays   .      .      .  1790-1845 

Darwin,  Charles,  (Nat.),  The  Origin  of  Species  .      .      .  1809-1882 

Darwin,  Erasmus,  (Poet,  Nat.  &  Philos.),  Botanic  Garden  1731-1802 

Davenant,  Sir  William,  (Drama  &  Poet),  Gondibert  .      .  1605-1668 

Davidson,  John,  (Poet),  BoZiads  and /Son^s 1857-1909 

Davidson,  Lucretia  Maria,    (Poet),  Amir  Khan   .      .      .  1808-1825 

Davies,  Sir  John,  (Poet  &  Ess.),  Nosce  Teipsum  .      .      .  1569-1626 
Davis,   Richard   Harding,    (Nov.   &  Drama),   Soldiers  of 

Fortune 1864- 

Davy,  Sir  Humphry,  (Sei.,  Poet  &  Ess.),  Consolations  in 

Travel         1778-1829 

De  Bracton,  Henry,  (Legal),  De  Legibus  et  Consuetudinibus    d.  1268 

Defoe,  Daniel,    (Adv.),  Robinson  Crusoe 1663-1731 

Dekker,  Thomas,    (Drama),   The  Shoemaker's  Holiday    .  1570-1641 
Deland,  Mrs.  Margaret  Wade,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  John  Ward, 

Preacher 1857- 

De  la  Eamee,  Louisa,   ("Ouida"),   (Nov.),  Under  Two 

Flags 1839-1908 

De  Mandeville,  Bernard,  (Philos.  &  Poet),  The  Grumbling 

Hive 1670-1732 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  359 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

De  Mandeville,  Sir  John,  (Trav.),  Narrative  of  Travels  .  1300-1372 

De  Morgan,  William  Frend,   (Nov.),  Joseph  Vance  .      .  1839- 

Denham,  Sir  John,  (Drama),  Cooper's  Hill     ....  1615-1668 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,   (Ess.),  Confessions  of  an  English 

Opium    Eater 1785-1859 

Derby,   George    Horatio,    ("John    Phoenix"),    (Hum.), 

Squibob   Papers 1823-1861 

De  Tabley,  Lord,   (Poet),  Philoctetes 1835-1895 

De  Vere,  Aubrey,  (Poet),  Legends  of  St.  Patrick  .      .      .  1814-1902 

Dickens,  Charles,  (Nov.),  David  Copperfield;  Pickwick  .  1812-1870 

Dickinson,  John,  (Pol.),  Letters 1732-1808 

Dilke,  Sir  Charles,   (Hist.  &  Pol.),  Problems  of  Greater 

Britain 1843-1911 

Disraeli,  Benjamin   (Lord  Beaconsfield),   (Nov.),  Vivian 

Grey 1805-1881 

Disraeli,  Isaac,  (Mis.),  Curiosities  of  Literature  .      .      .  1766-1848 

Dobson,  Austin,  (Poet  &  Mis.),  Vignettes  in  Rhyme  .      .  1840- 
Dodge,  Mary  Abigail  ("Gail  Hamilton"),  (Nov.  &  Ess.), 

Gala  Days 1838-1896 

Dodge,  Mary  Mapes,   (Nov.),  Irvington  Stories    .      .      .  1838-1905 
Dodgson,  Charles  Lutwidge,    ("Lewis  Carroll"),   (Nov., 

Juveniles),  Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland  .  1832-1898 
Dodsley,  Robert,  (Drama),  The  King  and  the  Miller  of 

Mansfield 1703-1764 

Donne,  John,  (Ess.  &  Satires),  An  Anatomy  of  the  World  1573-1631 

Doughty,  Charles  M.,  (Travel),  Arabia  Deserta   .      .      .  1843- 

Douglas,   Gawin,    (Trans.),   JEneid 1474-1522 

Dowden,  Edward,  (Poet  &  Biog.),  Shakespeare,  his  Mind 

and   Art 1843-1913 

Dowson,  Ernest,  (Poet),  Verses 1867-1900 

Doyle,   Sir   Arthur  Conan,    (Nov.),    The   Adventures   of 

Sherlock   Holmes 1859- 

Drake,  Joseph  Rodman,  (Poet),  The  American  Flag       .  1795-1820 
Draper,  John  William,  (Hi.st.),  Hist,  of  the  Civil  War  in 

America 1811-1882 

Drayton,  Michael,  (Poet),  The  Polyolbion 1563-1631 

Driver,    Samuel   Rollis,    (Theol.),    Isaiah:    his    Life   and 

Times 1846- 

Drummond,   Henry,    (Theol.   &  Philos.),    The  Ascent   of 

Man 1851-1897 

Drummond,  William,   (Poet),  The  Flowers  of  Zion   .      .  1584-1649 
Dryden,  John,   (Poet),  Absalom  and  Achitophel  (1681), 

Ode  to  St.  Cecilia's  Day  (1700) 1631-1700 

Du  Chaillu,  Paul  Belloni,   (Trav.  &  Nat.),  Explorations 

in   Equatorial   Africa 1835-1903 

Dugdale,  Sir  William,   (Hist.),  The  Antiquities  of  War- 
wickshire      1605-1686 


360  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  #  Dates  Born-Died 

Du   Maurier,   George,    (Nov.),   Trilby 1834-1896 

Dunbar,  William,  (Alleg.  Poet),  The  Thistle  and  Rose  1465-1530 
Dunne,   Finley   Peter,    ("Mr.    Dooley"),    (Hum.),   Mr. 

Dooley's  Philosophy 1867- 

Dwight,    Timothy,    (Theol.    &   Poet),    The    Triumph   of 

Infidelity 1752-1817 

Dyer,  John,   (Poet),  Grongar  Hill 1700-1758 

Earl    of    Chesterfield,     ("Philip    Dormer    Stanhope"), 

(Lit.),  Letters  to  his  Son 1694-1773 

Earle,  John,  (Theol.  &  Philol.),  Philology  of  the  English 

Tongue       1824-1903 

Eehard,  Laurence,   (Hist.),  The  History  of  England  to 

1688 11671-1730 

Edgeworth,  Maria,  (Nov.),  Castle  Backrent  ....  1767-1849 
Edwards,  Amelia  B.,   (Mis.),  A   Thousand  Miles  up  the 

Nile 1831-1892 

Edwards,  Jonathan, (Theol.  &  Philos.) ,  Freedom  of  the  Will     1703-1758 
Eggleston,  Edward,  (Nov.  &  Hist.),  The  Hoosier  School- 
master             1837-1902 

Elmsley,  Peter,   (Lit.),  Bacchce 1773-1825 

Elyot,  Sir  Thomas,  (Philos.),  The  Governor  .  .  about  1490-1546 
Emerson,  Ealph  Waldo,  (Ess.  &  Poet),  Essays,  1st  series  1803-1882 
Erigena,  Johannes  Scotus,    (Philos.),  Of  the  Nature  of 

Things -?886 

Evans,  Marian,  ("George  Eliot"),  (Nov.  &  Poet),  Adam 

Bede 1820-1880 

Evelyn,  John,   (Mis.),  Sylva 1620-1706 

Ewing,  Mrs.  Juliana  Horatia,    (Nov.,  Juveniles),  Jack- 
anapes             1841-1885 

Fabyan,    Kobert,    (Hist.),    Chronicles    of   England   and 

France -1513 

Fairbairn,  Andrew  M.,   (Theol.),  The  Philosbphy  of  the 

Christian  Beligion 1838-1911 

Fairfax,    Edward,     (Trans.     &     Poet),     Trans.     Tasso's 

Recovery  of  Jerusalem about  1580-1635 

Farjcon,  Benjamin  L.,   (Nov.),  Toilers  of  Babylon   .      .  1833-1903 

Farquhar.  George,  (Com.  &  Poet),  The  Beaux  Stratagem  1678-1707 

Farrar,  Frederic  W.,  (Theol.),  Life  of  Christ  ....  1831-1903 

Fawcett,  Edgar,  (Nov.  &  Drama),  Olivia  Delaplaine  .  .  1847-1904 
Felkin,    The   Hon.    Mrs.,    (Ellen    Thorneycroft    Fowler), 

(Nov.),    Concerning    Isabel    Carnaby     .      .      .  Modern 

Fenn,  George  Manville,  (Nov.),  The  Man  with  a  Shadow  1831-1909 

FerjTusson,  Bobort.    (Poet),  Poems 1750-1774 

Field,  Eugene,  (Hum.  &  Poet),  A  Little  Book  of  Western 

Verse 1850-1895 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  361 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4"  Dates    Born-Died 

Fielding,  Henry  (Nov.  &  Drama),  Joseph  Andrews  (1742), 

Tom  Jones  (1749),  Amelia  (1751)  ....  1707-1754 
Fields,  James  Thomas,  (Poet,  Biog.  &  Mia.),  Ballads,  and 

other    Verses    (Editor  Atlantic   Monthly,    1862- 

1870) 1817-1881 

Findlater,   Jane   Helen,    (Nov.),   The   Green   Graves   of 

Balgowrie        fl860- 

Findlater,  Mary,  (Nov.),  Tales  that  are  Told  ....     1865- 

FirtL,  Charles  H.,  (Hist.),  Oliver  Cromwell 1857- 

Fisher,  John,  (TheoL),  Sermons 1459-1535 

Fiske,  John,  (Philos.  &  Hist.),  Cosmic  Philosophy  .  .  1842-1901 
Flamsteed,  John,  (Ast.),  Historia  Ccelestis  Britannica  .  1646-1719 
Fletcher,     John,      (Drama),     Philaster,     The     Faithful 

Shepherdess     1576-1625 

Florence  of  Worcester,  (Hist.),  Chron.  of  England  .      .  -1118 

Foote,  Samuel,  (Drama),  The  Mayor  of  Garrat  .  .  .  1720-1777 
Ford,  John,  (Drama),  The  Lover's  Melancholy  .  .  .  1586-1639? 
Ford,  Paul  Leicester,  (Nov.) ,  The  Honorable  Peter  Stirling  1865-1902 
Fordun,  John  de,   (Hist.),  Chron.  of  Scotland       .      .      .  -1384 

Fortescue,  Sir  John,  (Legal),  Laws  of  England  .  .  .  1394-1476 
Fosbrooke,  Thomas  D.,  (Hist.  &  Mis.),  The  Economy  of 

Monastic  Life 1770-1842 

Foster,  Stephen  Collins,  (Songs  &  Ballads),  Old  Folks  at 

Home 1826-1864 

Fox,  George,  Journal  of  his  Life,  Travels,  etc.  .  .  .  1624-1691 
Fox,   John,    (Nov.),    The   Little   Shepherd   of   Kingdom 

Come 1863- 

Foxe,  John,  (Hist.),  Acts  and  Monuments  of  the  Church 

("Book  of  Martyrs") 1516-1587 

Frankau,  Mrs.  Julia.     See  Frank  Danby. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,    (Philos.   &  Hist.),  Poor  Richard's 

Almanac   (1732),  Autobiography 1706-1790 

Freeman,  E.  A.,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  Norman  Conquest  .  1823-1892 
Freeman,    Mary    E.    Wilkins,    ("Mary     E.     Wilkins"), 

(Nov.),  Jane  Field 1862- 

Freneau,   Philip,    (Poet),   The  Indian  Burying-Ground    .      1752-1832 
Froude,  James  Anthony,  (Hist.  &  Ess.),  History  of  Eng- 
land from  the  Fall  of  Wolsey  to  the  Armada  .     1818-1894 
Fuller,  Henry  Blake,  (Nov.),  The  Chevalier  of  Pensieri- 

Vani 1857- 

FuUer,  Sarah  Margaret,   (Mis.  &  Critic),  Woman  in  the 

Nineteenth  Century  (Editor  of  The  Dial)  .  .  1810-1850 
Fuller,  Thomas,  (Biog.  &  Hist.),  The  Worthies  of  England  1608-16G1 
Funk,  Isaac  K.,  (Philos.  &  Lexicography),  The  Next  Step 

in    Evolution;    A    Standard   Dictionary    of    the 

English  Language 1839-1912 


362  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 

Furness,    Horace    Howard,    (Critic    &    Ess.),    Edited    a 

New  Variorum  Edition  of  Shakespeare  .  .  .  1833-1912 
Furnivall,  Frederick  J.,  (Philo.  &  Mis.),  Edited  a  Parallel 

Text  Edition  of  Chaucer's  Minor  Poems  .      .      .  1825-1911 

Fyflfe,  Charles  Alan,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  Modern  Europe  .  1845-1892 

Gaimar,  Geoffrey,  (Trans.),  Translation  into  Anglo-Nor- 
man of  Geoffrey's  History  of  the  Britons  (1154)  12th  Cent. 
Gairdner,  James,   (Biog.  &  Hist.),  The  Houses  of  Lan- 
caster and  York 1828- 

Galsworthy,  John,  (Drama  &  Nov.),  Joy;  Fraternity  .      .     1867- 
Galt,  John,  (Nov.),  r;ie  ^nnaZs  o/ffte  Pam/i  .      .      .      .     1779-1839 
Gardiner,  S.  E.,  (Hist.),  The  Thirty  Tears'  War  .      .      .     1829-1902 
Garnett,  Mrs.  E.  S.,  (Nov.),  The  Infamous  John  Friend    Modern 
Garrick,   David,    (Drama),  Miss   in   Her   Teens    (1747), 

The  Lying   Valet    (1740) 11716-1779 

Gatty,  Mrs.  Margaret   ("Aunt  Judy"),   (Nov.  &  Poet, 

Juveniles),    Aunt   Judy's    Tales 1807-1873 

Gascoigne,  George,    (Poet),  The  Steele  Glas    ....     1525-1577 
Gay,  John,   (Poet),  Fables,  Black-eyed  Susan,  Beggar's 

Opera   (1726)        1685-1732 

Gayarre,  Charles  Etienne  A.,  (Hist.),  History  of  Louisiana     1805-1895 
Geikie,  Sir  Archibald,  (Sci.),  Text-Book  of  Geology  .      .     1835- 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,   (Hist.),  Historia  Britonum   .      .  -1154 

George  Eliot.     See  Evans 
Gervase  of  Canterbury,  (Hist.),  Chronicle  of  the  Meigns 

of  Stephen,  Henry  II.  and  Richard  I.  .  .  d.  about  1210 
Gibbon,  Edward,   (Hist.),  The  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 

Boman  Empire 1737-1794 

Gilbert,   Sir   William   Schwenck,    (Poet   &   Dram.),   Bab 

Ballads 1836-1911 

Gildas,    (Hist.),   Conquest   of   Britain about  516-570 

Gilder,  Eichard  Watson,  (Poet),  The  Great  Remembrance     1844-1909 
Gillies,  John,  (Hist.),  History  of  Ancient  Greece  .      .      .     1747-1836 

Gissing,  George  E.,  (Nov.),  Demos 1857-1903 

Gladstone,  William  E.,   (Pol.  &  Mis.),  The  State  in  its 

Relations  with  the  Church 1809-1898 

Glanville,  Eanulf  De,  (Legal),  Collection  of  English  Laws  -1190 

Glover,  Eichard,    (Poet),  Leonidas 1712-1789 

Godwin,  William,  (Nov.  &  Mis.),  Caleb  Williams  .      .      .     1756-1836 
Goldsmith,  Oliver,  (Nov.  &  Drama),  The  Vicar  of  Wake- 
field (1764),  The  Deserted  Village  (1770),  She 

Stoops  to  Conquer  (1773) 1728-1774 

Goodrich,   Samuel   Griswold,    ("Peter  Parley"),    (Nov., 

Hist.  &  Mis.),  Peter  PaWey  Taies  .  ....  1793-1863 
Gore,  Charles,  (Theol.),  Editor  of  Lux  Mundi  ....     1853- 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  363 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4"  Dates    Born-Died 

Gosse,  Edmund  William,  (Hist.  &  Ess.),  Hist,  of  Eigh- 
teenth  Century  Literature;   Record   of  English 

Literature 1849- 

Gower,  John,  (Poet),  Confessio  Amantis  (1483  Caxtons) 

about  1325-1408 

Grahame,  James,  (Poet),  The  Sabbath 1765-1811 

Granger,  James,    (Hist.),  Biog.  Hist,   of  England    .      .  -1776 

Grant,  James,    (Nov.),   The   Yelloiu  Frigate   ....     1822-1887 

Grant,  Robert,  (Nov.),  Unleavened  Bread 1852- 

Graves,  Alfred  Perceval,  (Poet),  Songs  of  Irish  Wit  and 

Humour 1846- 

Gray,    Thomas,    (Poet),    Elegy    Written    in    a    Country 

Churchyard      1716-1771 

Green,  John  Richard,  (Hist.),  Short  History  of  the  En- 
glish People    1837-1883 

Green,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Everett,   (Wood),    (Hist.),  Lives  of 

the  Princesses  of  England 1818-1895 

Green,  Thomas  Hill,   (Philos.),  Prolegomena  to  Ethics  .     1836-1882 
Greene,   George   Washington,    (Hist.),   Short   History   of 

Ehode  Island 1811-1883 

Greene,  Robert,   (Drama  &  Mis.),  The  Scottish  Historie 

of  James  IV about  1560-1592 

Gregory,  Daniel  Seelye  (Theol.  &  jNIis.),  Why  Four  Gos- 
pels; Managing  Editor  of  A  Standard  Diction- 
ary of  the  English  Language 1835- 

Grosseteste,  Robert,    (Theol.,  Philos.  &  Poet),  Sermons, 

Verses,   etc 11175-1253 

Grote,  George,  (Hiat.),  Hist,  of  Greece 1794-1871 

Guest,  Lady  Charlotte,  (Trans,  from  Welsh),  Mabinogion     1812-1895 
Guthrie,  Thomas  Anstey,   ("F.  Anstey"),   (Nov.),   Vice 

Versa 1856- 

Gwynn,  Stephen  Lucius,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  Robert  Emmet:  a 

Historical  Romance 1864- 

Habberton,  John,  (Nov.),  Helen's  Babies 1842- 

Haggard,  H.  Rider,  (Nov.),  King  Solomon's  Mines  .      .  1856- 

Hakluyt,  Richard,  (Trav.),  Voyages  and  Discoveries  .      .  1553-1616 
Hale,  Edward  Everett,  (Nov.  &  Ess.),  The  Man  Without 

a  Country  1822-1909 

Hall,  Basil,  (Trav.),  Fragments  of  Voyages  and  Travels  1788-1844 

Hall,  Joseph,    (Poet  &  Nov.),  Satires 1574-1656 

Hall,  Robert,  (Sermons),  Modern  Infidelity  Considered  .  1764-1831 

Hall,  Samuel  Carter,   (Mis.),  Baronial  Halls  of  England  1800-1889 

Hallam,  Henry,  (Hist.),  Europe  During  the  Middle  Ages  1777-1859 

Halleck,  Fitz-Greene.  (Poet),  Marco  Bozzaris  ....  1790-1867 
Halley,    Edmund,    (Sci.    &    Nat.    Philos.),    Catalogue   of 

Southern    Stars    1656-1742 


364  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name             Type  of  Work             Chief  Works  4"  Dates  Born-Died 
Halsey,   Francis  Whiting,    (Hist.),   The   Old  New   York 

Frontier 1851- 

Hamilton,  Thomas,  (Nov.  &  Hist.),  The  Youth  and  Man- 
hood of  Cyril   Thornton 1789-1842 

Hamilton,  William,  (Poet),  Braes  of  Yarrow  ....  1704-1754 

Hannay,  James,   (Nov.  &  Mis.),  Satire  and  Satirists     .  1827-1873 
Hannay,  Eev.  James  Owen,  ("George  A.  Birmingham"), 

(Nov.  &  Dram.),  The  Seething  Pot   ....  1865- 

Hardy,  Arthur  S.,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  The  Wind  of  Destiny  1847- 
Hardy,  Thomas,    (Nov.  &  Poet),  Under  the   Greenwood 

Tree;  Tess  of  the  D'Urbervilles 1840- 

Hardyng,  John,  (Hist.  &  Poet),  A  Metrical  Chronicle  of 

England 1378-14651 

Harraden,  Beatrice,  (Nov.),  Ships  that  Pass  in  the  Night  1864- 

Harrington,  James,   (Pol.  &  Philos.),  Oceana  ....  1611-1677 

Harris,  James,    (Philol.   &  Philos.),  Hermes   ....  1709-1780 

Harris,  Joel  Chandler,   (Nov.),  Uncle  Bemus  ....  1848-1908 

Harrison,  Frederic,  (Hist.  &  Ess.),  Cromwell   ....  1831- 
Harrison,    Mrs.    St.    Leger    ("Lucas    Malet"),    (Nov.), 

The  Wages  of  Sin 1852- 

Hartley,  David,  (Sci.),  Observations  on  Man  ....  ?1705-1757 

Harvey,  William,    (Sci.),  Circulation  of  the  Blood    .      .  1578-1657 

Hawes,  Stephen,  (Poet),  The  Pass  Tyme  of  Pleasure   .  1483-1523 

Hawker,  Eobert   Stephen,    (Poet),   Cornish  Ballads    .      .  1803-1875 

Hawkins,  Anthony  Hope,  (Nov.),  The  Prisoner  of  Zenda  1863- 

Hawthorne,  Julian,  CNov.),  Archibald  Malmaison  .      .      .  1846- 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel  (Nov.),  r/ie  .ScaWef  Le«er  .      .      .  1804-1864 

Hay,  John,   (Hist.,  Poet  &  Nov.),  Pike  County  Ballads  1838-1905 

Hayne,  Paul  Hamilton,  (Poet),  Legends  and  Lyrics  .      .  1830-1886 
Hayward,  Sir  John,   (Hist.),  Life  and  Baigne  of  Henry 

IV about  1560-1627 

Hazlitt,  William,    (Ess.   &  Critic),  Character  of  Shake- 
speare's  Plays 1778-1830 

Hearn,  Lafcadio,  (Travel),  Glimpses  of  Unfamiliar  Japan  1850-1904 
Heber,  Eeginald  (Travel,  Poet  &  Mis.),  A  Journey  through 

India 1783-1826 

Helps,  Sir  Arthur,  (Ess.  &  Hist.),  Friends  in  Council  .      .  1813-1875 

Hemans,  Felicia  I).,  (Poet),  Vespers  of  Palermo  .      .      .  1794-1835 

Henley,  William  Ernest,   (Poet),  The  Song  of  the  Sword  1849-1903 

Henry  of  Huntingdon,  (Hist.  &  Poet),  Chron.  of  England  d.  abt.  1157 

Henry,   Matthew,    (Theol.),  Commentary    (Unfinished)    .  1662-1714 
Henryson,   Eobert,    (Poet),   The   Testament   of   Cresseid 

about  1425— about  1500 

Henty,  George  A.,  (Nov.,  Juveniles),  Under  Drake's  Flag  1832-1902 
Herbert,  Lord  Edward,  (Hist.  &  Poet),  Hist,  of  the  Life 

and   Beign   of   Henry    VIII 1581-1648 

Herbert,  George,   (Poet),  The  Temple 1593-1633 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  365 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4-  Bates  Born-DieJ 

Herrick,  Robert,  (Poet),  Hesperides 1591-1674 

Herrick,  Robert,  (Nov.),  The  Man  Who  Wins  ....  1868- 
Herschel,  Sir  John  F.  W.,  (Philoe.),  Cape  Observations  .  1792-1871 
Hewlett,  Maurice,  (Nov.),  The  Forest  Lovers  ....  1861- 
Heywood,  John,  (Poet  &  Drama),  The  Spider  and  the  Fly  1497-1565! 
Heywood,  Thomas,  (Drama),  A  Woman  Killed  with  Kind- 
ness             ....  T1570-1648 

Hichens,  Robert  S.,  (Ess.  &  Nov.),  The  Garden  of  Allah  1864- 
Higdon,  Ranulf,    (Hist.),  Polychronicon   {Chron.  of  En- 
gland)         about  1299-about  1363 

Higginsou,  Thos.  Wentworth,   (Hist.,  Nov.  &  Ess.),  Mai- 

bone,  an  Old  Port  Bomance 1823-1911 

Hildreth,  Richard,  (Hist.),  History  of  the  United  States  .  1807-1865 
Hill,  George  Birkbeck,  (Biog.),  Dr.  Johnson:  his  Friends 

and   Critics 1835-1903 

Hillhouse,  James  A.,  (Poet),  Percy's  Masque  ....  1789-1841 

Hoadly,  Benjamin,  (Theol.  &  Pol.),  Sermons  ....  1676-1761 
Hobbes,  John  Oliver.    See  Ceaigie. 
Hobbes,   Thomas,    (Philos.   &   Hist.),   Leviathan    (1651), 

Behemoth,  a  History  of  the  Civil  Wars  (1679)     .  1588-1679 

Hodgkin,  Thomas,   (Hist.),  Italy  and  her  Invaders   .      .  1831- 
Hogg,  James,  ("Ettrick  Shepherd")  (Poet  &  Nov.),  The 

Queen's    Wake 1770-1835 

Holinshed,  Raphael,  (Hist.),  Chronicles  of  England,  Scot- 
land,   and    Ireland -1580 

Holland,  Dr.  Josiah  Gilbert,   (Biog.,  Nov.  &  Ess.),  Life 

of  Lincoln 1819-1881 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  (Ess.,  Poet  &  Nov.),  Autocrat  of 
the  Breakfast  Table  (1858),  Under  the  Violets 

(1860),  Elsie  Vernier   (1861) 1809-1894 

Home,  John,  (Drama),  Douglas 1724-1808 

Hone,  William,    (Mis.),  E very-Day  Book 1779-1842 

Hood,  Thomas,   (Poet  &  Hum.),  The  Song  of  the  Shirt 

(1844)  ;  Miss  Kilmansegg ;  Eugene  Aram  (1831)  1799-1845 

Hook,  Theodore  E.,  (Drama  &  Nov.),  Siege  of  St.  Quentin  1788-1841 

Hooke,  Nathaniel,  (Hist.),  Soman  History -1763 

Hook«,    Robert,    (Philos.),    Micrographia  ....  1635-1702 

Hookdr,  Richard,  (Theol.),  Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity  1553-1600 
Hooker,  Thomas,  (Theol.),  The  Pattern  of  Perfection  abt.  1586-1647 
Hope,  Anthony.    See  Hawkins. 

Hopkinison,  Francis,  (Poet,  Pol.  &  Ess.),  Battle  of  the  Kegs    1737-1791 
Hornung,  Ernest  William,   (Nov.),  The  Amateur  Cracks- 
man         1866- 

Horsley,  Samuel,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  On  Prosodies  of  the 

Greek   and   Latin   Languages 1733-1806 

Housman,  Laurence,   (Poet  &  Nov.),  An  Englishwoman's 

Love  Letters 1867- 


366  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name  Type  of  WorTc  Chief  Works  4-  Dates    Born-Died 

Howard,  Henry,   ("Earl  of  Surrey"),    (Poet),  Sonnets 

(1557);  Translation  of  Virgil's  ^neid  (1557)  .  11516-1547 
Howe,  Julia  Ward,  (Poet),  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Bepublio  1819-1910 
Howells,  William  Dean,    (Nov.),   Venetian  Life   (1866), 

The  Rise  of  Silas  Laphman  (1885) 1837- 

Hughes,  Thomas,  (Nov.),  Tom  Brown's  Schooldays  .      .     1823-1896 
Hughes,  Thomas  Patrick,  (Lexicog.  &  Orient.),  The  Dic- 
tionary of  Islam 1838-1911 

Hume,  David,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  England 1711-1776 

Humphreys,   Mrs.    W.    Desmond,    ("Eita"),    (Nov.),   A 

Man  of  no  Importance t 

Hunt,  J.   H.   Leigh,    (Ess.   &  Poet),   Men,   Women   and 

Books 1784-1859 

Hunter  John,  (Sci.),  Natural  Hist,  of  the  Human  Teeth     1728-1793 
Hunter,  Sir  William  W.,^(Hist.),  The  Imperial  Gazetteer 

of  India 1840-1900 

Hutcheson,  Francis,  (Philos.),  A  System  of  Moral  Philos- 
ophy          1694-1747 

Hutchinson,   Lucy,    (Biog.),   Memoirs 1620-1675 

Hutchinson,  Thomas,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  Province  of 

Massachusetts 1711-1780 

Hutton,  Charles,  (Mathematics),  Miscellanea  Mathematica     1737-1823 
Hutton,    Kichard    Holt,     (Ess.    &    Mis.),    Contemporary 

Thought*  and  Thinkers 1826-1907 

Huxley,  Thomas  Henry,   (Sci.  &  Mis.),  Man's  Place  in 

Nature        1825-1895 

Ingelow, ,  Jean,  (Poet  &  Nov.),  High  Tide  on  the  Coast  of 

Lincolnshire;  Off  the  Skelligs 1830-1897 

Ingersoll,    Ernest,    (Nat.),    The    Life    of    Animals — the 

Mammals 1852- 

Ingersoll,   Eobert    Green,    (Philos.),    Some   Mistakes    of 

Moses 1833-1899 

Ingulphus,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  Monastery  of  Croyland  .     1030-1109 
Ireland,  William  H.,  (Drama,  Poet  &  Nov.),  Shakespeare 

Forgeries 1777-1835 

Irving,    Washington,    (Nov.    &    Hist.),    Knickerbocker's 

Hist,  of  New  York  (1809),  Sketch  Book  (1819)  1783-1859 
Irwin,  Wallace,   (Hum.),  Love  Sonnets  of  a  Hoodlum   .     1875- 

Jacobs,  Joseph,  (Fables  &  Judaica),  English  Fairy  Tales 

(1890);   The  Jews  of  Angevin,  England  (1893)  1854-1916 

Jacobs,  William  Wymark,   (Nov.),  Skipper's  Wooing     .  1863- 

James,  George  P.  E.    (Nov.  &  Hist.),  Eichelieu    .      .      .  1801-1860 

James,  Henry,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  The  Nature  of  Evil  .  1811-1882 

James,  Henry,    (Nov.   &   Ess.),  A   Passionate  Pilgrim     .  1843-1916 

James  L  of  Scotland,  (Poet),  The  King's  Quhair       .      .  1394-1437 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  367 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4"  Dates    Born-Died 

James,  William,  (Philos.),  Principles  of  Psychology  .  .  1842-1910 
Jebb,  Sir  Richard,  (Trans.  &  Mis.),  Sophocles  .  .  .  1841-1905 
Jefferies,  Richard,  (Nat.  &  Mis.),  Wild  Life  in  a  Southern 

County        1848-1887 

Jefferson,  Thomas,    (Pol.),  Drafted  the  Declaration  of 

Independence        1743-1826 

Jenyns,  Soame,  (Ess  &  Poet),  View  of  the  Internal  Evi- 
dence of  the  Christian  Religion   .      .      .     1703  or  04-1787 
Jerome,  Jerome  K,,  (Nov.  &  Hum.),  Three  Men  in  a  Boat     1859- 
Jewel,    John,    (TheoL    &    Philos.),    Apologia    Ecclesioe 

AnglicancB 1522-1571 

Jewett,  Sarah  Orne,  (Nov.),  Peepftaven 1849-1909 

John  of  Salisbury,  (Philos.  &  Biog.),  Life  of  Thomas  d 

Becket        .      1120-1180 

Johnson,  Edward,  (Hist.),  Wonderworking  Providence  of 

Sion's  Saviour  in  New  England 1599-1672 

Johnson,  Rossiter,  (Hist.),  History  of  the  War  of  Seces- 
sion            1840- 

Johnson,  Samuel,  (Lex.  &  Nov.),  Dictionary  of  the  English 

Language  (1755) ;  Basselas   (1759)    ....     1709-1784 
Johnston,  Sir  Harry  H.,   (Nat.  &  Travel),  The  Kilima- 

Njaro  Expedition 1858- 

Jones,  Henry  Arthur,  (Drama  &  Ess.),  The  Hypocrites  .     1851- 
Jones,  Sir  William,   (Orientalist  &  Ess.),  Works   (1799)     1746-1794 
Jonson,    Ben,    (Drama),    Every    Man    in    His    Humour 

(1598);   Catiline   (1611) 1573-1637 

Jortin,  John,  (Theol.  &  Critic),  Bemarks  on  Ecclesiastical 

History 1698-1770 

Junius,  Letters  which  appeared  between  1769  and  1772, 
and   are   ascribed   to    Sir   Philip    Francis    . 

Karnes,  Henry  Home  (Lord  Kames),  (Philos.),  Elements 

of   Criticism 1696-1782 

Keats,  John,  (Poet),  Endymion 1795-1821 

Keble,  John,  (Poet),  The  Christian  Year 1792-1866 

Kemble,  John  Mitchell,  (Hist.  &  Philology),  The  Saxons 

in  England ■ 1807-1857 

Kennedy,  John  P.,  (Nov.  &  Ess.),  Swallow  Barn  .      .      .  1795-1870 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  (Poet),  The  Star-Spangled  Banner  .  1779-1843 

King,  Henry,  (Poet  &  Sermons),  Poems  and  Sonnets  .      .  1591-1669 

Kinglake,  Alexander  W.,   (Hist.),  Eothen 1811-1891 

Kingsley,  Charles,  (Mis.),  ^»on  Locfce 1819-1875 

Kingsley,  Henry,  (Nov.),  Ravenshoe 1830-1876 

Kingston,  William  H.  G.,  (Nov.  &  Juveniles),  The  Prime 

Minister 1814-1880 

Kipling,  Rudyard,   (Mis.  &  Poet),  Plain  Tales  from  the 

Hills;  The  Recessional 1865- 


368  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name             Type  of  Work             Chief  WorJcs  4"  Bates  Born-Died 

Kitto,  John,  (TheoL),  Cyclopedia  of  Biblical  Literature  1804-1854 

Knight,   Charles,    (Hist,),   A   History   of  England    .      .  1791-1873 

Knighton,  Henry,   (Hist.),  A  Hist,  of  English  Affairs   .  -1366 

KnoUes,  Richard,  (Hist.),  General  Hist,  of  the  Turks,  abt.  1545-1610 

Knowles,  James  Sheridan,    (Drama),  William   Tell    .      .  1784-1862 

Knox,  Vicesimus,  (Ess.  &  Mis.),  Essays 1752-1821 

Krehbiel,  Henry  Edward  (Music),  The  Pianoforte  and  its 

Music        . 1854- 

Lamb,  Charles,  (Ess.),  Essays  of  Elia 1775-1834 

Landon,  Letitia  E.,  ("Mrg.  Mac  Lean"),  (Nov.  &  Poet), 

Ethel  Churchill 1802-1838 

Landor,  A.  Henry  Savage,  (Travel),  An  Explorer's  Adven- 
tures in  Tibet .      .  1865- 

Landor,  Walter  Savage,   (Poet  &  Mis.),  Gebir     .      .      .  1775-1864 
Lang,  Andrew,  (Ess.  &  Poet),  Ballads  and  Lyrics  of  Old 

France        1844-1912 

Langland,  William,  (AUeg.),  Piers  Plowman     .     abt.  13307abt.  1400 
Lanier,  Sidney,  (Critic  &  Poet),  The  English  Novel  and 

its  Development 1842-1881 

Lank  ester,    Sir    Edwin    Ray,    (Sci.),    Studies    on   Apus, 

Limulus,    and   Scorpio 1847- 

Lathrop,  George  Parsons,  (Nov.),  An  Echo  of  Passion  .  1851-1898 

Latimer,  Hugh,  (Theol.), /Ser?no?is abt.  1472-1555 

Layamon,   (Poet  &  Hist.),  Bi'ut  or  Chron.  of  Britain  .  1155-1200 

Lea,  Henry  Charles,   (Kist),  Hist,  of  the  Inquisition     .  1825-1909 
Lecky,  William  Edward  Hartpole,  (Hist.  &  Philos.),  Hist. 

of   the   Bise    and   Progress    of    Rationalism    in 

Europe        1838-1903 

Lee,  Nathaniel,  (Drama),  Gloriana 1657-1692 

Lee,  Sir  Sidney,   (Biog.  &  Mis.),  Life  of  Shakespeare   .  1859- 

Le  Gallienne,  Richard,  (Poet  &  Crit.),  Eudyard  Kipling  .  1866- 

Leighton,   Robert,    (Theol.),    Sermons 1611-1684 

Leland,   John,    (Hist.),   English   Antiquities    .      .      .  abt.  1506-1552 

Lemon,  Mark,  (Mis.),  rfte /Sftreeis  of  London  .      .      .      .  1809-1870 

Leslie,  Sir  John,  (Philos.  &  Mis.),  Natural  Philosophy  .  1766-1832 

Lever,  Charles  James,  (Nov.-),  Charles  O'Malley   .      .      .  1806-1872 
Lewes,  George  Henry,  (Philos.  &  Mis.),  The  Biographical 

Hist,  of  Philosophy 1817-1878 

Lewis  Carroll.     See  Dodgson, 

Lewis,  Sir  George  Cornewall  (Polit.),  A  Dialogue  on  the 

Best  Form  of  Government 1806-1863 

Liddon,  Canon  Henry  Parry,    (Theol.),   The  Divinity  of 

Christ 1829-1890 

Lightfoot,  Joseph  Barber,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  On  a  Fresh 

Revision  of  the  English  New   Testament     .      .  1828-1889 

Lingard,  John,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  England 1771-1859 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF   AUTHORS  369 

Name              Type  of  Work              Chief  Works  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

Linton,  Mrs.  E.  Lynn,  (Nov.),  Sowing  the  Wind  .      .      .  1822-1898 

Lister,  Thomas  H.,   (I^ov,),  Granby 1801-1842 

Littleton,  Sir  Thomas  de   (Legal),  The  Tenures   .      .      .  1402-1481 
Livingstone,    David,    (Trav.),    Missionary    Travels    and 

Researches  in  South  Africa 1813-1873 

Locke,   David  E.,    ("Petroleum   V.   Nasby"),    (Nov.  & 

Hum.),  Nasby  Papers 1833-1888 

Locke,    John,    (Philos.),   An   Essay   Concerning   Human 

Understanding 1632-1704 

Locker-Lampson,  Frederick,  (Poet),  London  Lyrics  .      .  1821-1895 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,   (Hist.  &  Pol.),  Short  Hist,  of  the 

English  Colonies  in  America 1850- 

Lodge,  Sir  Oliver,    (Sci.  &  Philos.),  Life  and  Matter    .  1851- 

Lodge,  Thomas,   (Nov.  &  Drama),  Bosalynd   ....  1556-1625 

London.  Jack,   (Nov.  &  Travel),  The  Call  of  the  Wild  .  1876- 

Longfellow,   Henry  W.,    (Poet),   Evangeline    ....  1807-1882 

Longstreet,  Augustus  Baldwin,   (Nov.),  Georgia  Scenes  .  1790-1870 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,   (Hist.),  Pictorial  Field-hook  of  the 

Revolution 1813-1891 

Lothrop,  Harriet,   (Nov.  &  Juv.),  The  Golden  West   .      .  1844- 
Lounsbury,  Thomas  Raynesford,  (Lit.  &  Critic),  A  Hist. 

of  the  English  Language 1838-1915 

Lovelace,  Sir  Richard,   (Poet),  To  Althea  from  Prison  .  1618-1658 
Lovrell,  James  Russell,  (Poet,  Hum.  &  Pol.) ,  Bigelow  Papers    1819-1891 

Lowth,  Robert,  (Theol,  &  Philol.),  Translation  of  Isaiah  1710-1787 
Lubbock,  Sir  John,  ("Lord  Avebury"),  (Philos.  &  Nat.), 

The  Pleasures  of  Life 1834-1913 

Lucas,  Edward  Verrall,  (Nov.  &  Hum.),  Over  Bremerton's  1868- 
Lucy,   Henry   W.,    ("Toby,   M.P."),    (Hum.),   A   Diary 

of  Two  Parliaments 1845- 

Lyall,  Edna   (Miss  Ada  Allen  Bayly),   (Nov.),  Donovan  1857-1903 
Lyall,  Sir  Alfred  C,   (Poet  &  Biog.),  Verses  Written  in 

India 1835-1911 

Lydgate,  John,   (Poet),  The  Fall  of  Princes  .      .      .       1370?-1451? 

Lylie,  John,   (Drama  &  Poet),  Euphues 1553-1606 

Ljrndsay,  Sir  David,   (Poet),   The  Dreme ?1490-1555 

Lyttclton,  Lord  George,  (Poet  &  Mis.),  Dialogues  of  the 

Dead ".      1708  or  1709-1773? 

Macaulay,  Lord  Thomas  B.,  (Ess.,  Hist.  &  Poet),  Essays 

(1825-lSU) ,  LaTjs  of  Ancie7it  Rome  (18i2)  .  .  1800-1859 
MacCarthy,  Denis  Florence,   (Poet),  Under  glimpses,  and 

other  Poems 1817-1882 

MacCarthy,   .Justin,    (Hist.,  Nov.   &   Pol.),   My   Enemy's 

Daughter  C1S69),  Hist,  of  our  Own  Time  (1880)  1830-1912 
McCosh,   James,    (Philos.   &    Theol.),   Method   of   Divine 

Government IS  11-1894 


370  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name              Type  of  Worlc              Chief  Works  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

MacCrie,  Thomas,  (Hist.  &  Biog.),  The  Life  of  John  Knox  1772-1835 
MacDiarmid,  John,    (Biog.   &   Hist.),   Lives   of   British 

Statesmen        1779-1808 

MacFall,  Mrs.  Frances  E.,    ("Sarah  Grand"),   (Nov.), 

The  Heavenly  Twins 1862- 

Mackail,  Prof.  J.  W.,  (Mis.),  Lafm  Lif erasure  .      .      .      .  1859- 

Mackay,  Eric,   (Poet),  Love  Letters  of  a  Violinist   .      ,  1851-1898 
Mackintosh,  Sir  James,   (Philos.,  Hist.  &  Ess.),  Vindicice 

GallicoB        . 1765-1832 

McMaster,  John  Bach,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  People  of  the 

United  States 1852- 

Macpherson,  James,    (Poet),   Ossian:   Fingal,   Temora    .  1738-1796 
Mah'affy,  John  Pentland,  (Hist.  &  Ess.),  Prolegomena  to 

Ancient  History 1839- 

Mahan,  Alfred  Thayer,  (Hist.  &  Mis.),  Influence  of  Sea 

Power  upon  History 1840-1914 

Maitland,  Frederic  W.,  (Law  &  Hist.),  Roman  Canon  Law 

in  the  Church  of  England 1850-1906 

Malcolm,  Sir  John,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  Persia   ....  1769-1833 

Malory,  Sir  Thomas,  (Eomance),  Morte  d' Arthur  .      .      .  -1470 
Malthus,  Thomas  K.,  (Economist),  Principles  of  Political 

Economy 1766-1834 

Mangan,   James   Clarence,    (Poet),  DarJc   Eosaleen    .      .  1803-1849 
Mannyng,  Eobert   ("Robert  of  Brunne"),    (Poet),   The 

Story   of   Inglande abt.  1264-1340? 

Map,  or  Mapes,  Walter,  (Poet),  Latin  Poems    .      .     abt.  1150-1210? 

March,  Francis  Andrew,   (Philol.),  March's  Thesaurus   .  1825-1911 
Mark  Twain.     See  Clemens. 
Marlowe,     Christopher,     (Drama),     Tamburlaine,     1590; 

Faustus    (1616)     1564-1593 

Macryat,  Captain  Fred,  (Nov.),  Mr.  Midshipman  Easy   .  1792-1848 
Marsden,  William,  (Hist.  &  Travels),  Hist,  of  the  Island 

of  Sumatra 1754-1836 

Marsh,  George  Perkins,  (Philol.),  Man  and  Nature  .      .  1801-1882 

Marshall,  John,   (Biog.),  Life  of  Washington       .      .      .  1755-1835 

Marston,   John,    (Drama  &  Poet),   The  Malcontent    .      .  ?1575-1634 

Marston,  Philip  Bourke,    (Poet),  Song   Tide    ....  1850-1887 
Martin,  Sir  Theodore,  (Hist.,  Poet  &  Mis.),  Life  of  His 

Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  Consort   ....  1816-1909 
Martineau,    Harriet,     (Mis.),    Illustrations    of    Political 

Economy 1802-1876 

Martineau,  James  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  A  Study  of  Religion  1805-1900 
Marvel,  Ik.    See  Mitchell,  Doxald  G. 
Marvell,  Andrew,    (Poet  &  Pol.),  The  Rehearsal   Trans- 
prosed  1620-1678 

Masefield,  John,   (Poet  &  Drama).  Salt-Water  Ballads   .  Modern 

Mason,  Alfred  E.  W.,   (Nov.),  The  Four  Feathers   .      .  1865- 


A   PARTIAL  LIST  OF   AUTHORS  371 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  ^  Bates     Born-Died 

Mason,   William,    (Poet   &  Biog.),  Memoirs   of   Thomas 

Gray 1725-1797 

Massinger,  Philip,    (Drama),  A  New   Way  to  Pay   Old 

Debts 1583-1640 

Mather,  Cotton,  (Theol.,  Hist.  &  Sci.),  Magnolia  Christi 

Americana 1663-1728 

Matthews,  James  Brander,   (Ess.,  Drama  &  Mis.),  Intro- 
duction to  the  Study  of  American  Literature  .     1852- 
Maturin,  Charles  R.,  (Drama  &  Nov.),  Bertram   .      .      .     1782-1824 
Maxwell,  Mrs.     See  Braddon,  M.  E. 

Maxwell,  William  B.,   (Nov.),  The  Guarded  Flame   .      . 
May,  Thomas,  (Poet  &  Hist.),  Hist,  of  Long  Parliament     1595-1650 
Meredith,    George,    (Poet   &   Nov.),    Ordeal   of   Richard 

Feverel 1828-1909 

Meredith,  Owen.     See  Bulwer-Lytton,  Edward  Robert. 
Merivale,  Charles,  (Hist.),  A  History  of  the  Romans  under 

the  Empire 1808-1893 

Meynell,  Mrs.  Alice  C,  (Poet  &  Ess.),  The  Rhythm  of  Life     1850- 
Middleton,  Conyers,  (Hist.  &  Mis.),  HiA.  of  the  Life  of 

Cicero    1683-1750 

Middleton,   Thomas,    (Drama),  A   Game  at   Chess   .     abt.   1570-1627 
Mill,  James,    (Philos.   &   Hist.),  Principles   of  Political 

Economy 1773-1836 

Mill,  John   Stuart,    (Philos.),   System   of  Logic    .      .      .     1806-1873 
Miller,  Joaquin,  (originally  "Cincinnatus  Heine  Miller"), 

(Poet),  Songs  of  the  Sierras 1841-1913 

Milner,  Joseph,    (Hist.   &  Theol.),  Hist,   of  the  Church 

of  Christ 1744-1797 

Milton,   John,    (Poet),   Paradise  Lost    (1665),   Paradise 

Regained    (1671)        1608-1674 

Minot,  Laurence,   (Poet),  Historical  Poems   .  .       abt.  1333-1352 

Minto,  William,   (Biog.,  Ess.  &  Mis.),  Characteristics  of 

English  Poets  from  Chaucer  to  Shirley   .      .      .      1845-1893 
Mitchell,   Donald   G.,    ("Ik   Marvel"),    (Nov.    &    Ess.), 

Reveries  of  a  Bachelor 1822-1908 

Mitchell,  John   Ames,    (Nov.),   The  Silent   War    .      .      .      1845- 
Mitchell,  Silas  Weir,  (Sci.,  Poet  &  Nov.),  Injuries  of  the 

Nerves;   Hugh   Wynne 1829-1914 

Mitford,  William,    (His*.),  Hist,   of   Greece    ....     1744-1827 
Moffat,  Robert,  (Trav.),  Missionary  Labours  and  Scenes 

in  South  Africa 1795-1883 

Monkhouse,  William  Cosmo,    (Poet,  Art  Critic  &  Mis.), 

Italian    Pre-Raphaelites    ("The    National    Gal- 
lery")               1840-1901 

Monier- Williams,  Sir  Monior,  (Orientalist  &  Philologist), 

Sanskrit-English    Dictionary 1819-1899 

Montagu,   Lady   Mary   Wortley,    (Lit.),   Letters    .      .      .      1600-1761 


372  ESSENTIALS  OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name             Type  of  Work              Chief  Worlcs  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

Montgomery,  James,  (Poet),  The  Pelican  Island  .     .      .  1771-1854 

Moody,  Dwight  Lyman,  (Theol:),  How  to  Study  the  Bible  1837-1899 
Moody,  William  Vaughn,    (Poet  &  Dramatist),  The  Fire 

Bringer 1869-1910 

Moore,  F.  Frankfort,  (Nov.  &  Travel),  The  Mate  of  the 

"Jessica" 1855- 

Moore,  George,  (Nov.  &  Eealist),  Esther  Waters  .      .      .  1853- 

Moore,  John,  (Mis.),  A  View  of  Society  and  Manners  .  1730-1802 

Moore,  John  Bassett,   (Law),  American  Diplomacy   .      .  1860- 

Moore,  Thomas,  (Poet), /ns/i  Melodies 1779-1852 

More,  Hannah,   (Poet  &  Nov.),  Percy 1745-1833 

More,  Henry,   (Theol.),  Divine  Dialogues 1614-1687 

More,  Sir  Thomas,    (Hist.  &  Poet),  Life  and  Beign  of 

Edward  V.    (1513),   Utopia    (1514)    ....  1480-1535 
Morgan,  Lady  Sydney,   (Nov.  &  Poet),  The  Wild  Irish 

Girl abt.  1783-1859 

Morier,  James,   (Nov.),  Adventures  of  Hajji  Baba   .      .  1780-1848 
Morison,  J.  Cotter,   (Hist.  &  Mis.),  Service  of  Man  .      .  1831-1888 
Morley,  Henry,   (Lit.),  First  Sketches  of  English  Liter- 
ature   1822-1894 

Morley,    John,    (now    Viscount    Morley    of    Blackburn), 

(Biog.  &  Hist.),  Life  of  Gladstone   ....  1838- 
Morris,  George  P.,    (Poet,  Drama  &  Songs),   Woodman, 

Spare  that  Tree 1802-1864 

Morris,  Sir  Lewis,   (Poet),  The  Epic  of  Hades   .      .      .  1833-1907 
Morris,  Eichard,   (Philo.  &  Mis.),  Historical  Outlines  of 

English  Accidence 1833-1894 

Morris,  William,   (Poet),  Life  and  Death  of  Jason   .      .  1834-1896 
Morrison,   Kobert,    (Philo.),   Dictionary    of    the    Chinese 

Language 1782-1834 

Morton,  Nathaniel,   (Hist.),  New  England's  Memoriall   .  1613-1685 
Motley,  John  Lothrop,   (Hist.),  The  Rise  of  the  Dutch 

Republic 1814-1877 

Mulford,  Elisha,   (Theol.  &  Philos.),  Republic  of  God   .  1833-1885 

Mulock.     See  Craik. 

Murfree,  Mary  Noailles,  ("Charles  Egbert  Craddoek"), 

(Nov.),  In  the  Tennessee  Mountains  ....  1850- 

Murphy,  Arthur,  (Drama  &  Mis.),  The  Orphan  of  China  1730-1805 

Murray,  David   Christie,    (Nov.),    The   Weaker    Vessel    .  1847-1907 
Murray,   George   Gilbert   A.,    (Greek   &   Mis.),   Hist,   of 

Ancient   Greek  Literature 1866- 

Murray,  Sir  James  A.  H.,   (Lexicographer),  A  New  En- 
glish Dictionary  on  Historic  Principles  .      .      .  1837- 
Myers,  Ernest  James,   (Poet),  Judgment  of  Prometheus  1844- 
Myers,  Frederic  W.  H.,    (Philos.,    Poet    &    Ess.),    The 

Human    Personality    (1903) 1843-1901 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  373 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4-  Dates    Born-Died 

Napier,  Sir  William  F,  P.,  (Hist.),  Eist.  of  the  War  in 

the  Peninsula 1785-1860 

Nasby,  Petroleum  V.     See  Locke,  David  E. 

Nash,  Thomas,  (Drama  &  Mis.),  The  Tragedie  of  Dido 

1558-1600  or   '01 
Neckham,    Alexander,    (Poet,    Theol.    &    Philoa.),   Latin 

Poems        1157-1217 

Newbolt,  Henry,  (Poet),  Admirals  All 1862- 

Newman,  Francis  Wm.,    (Ess.),  The  Soul,  her  Sorrows 

and  Aspirations 1805-1897 

Newman,  John  Henry,   (Theol.),  Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua     1801-1890 
Newton,  Booth  Tarkington,  (Nov.),  The  Gentleman  from 

Indiana 1869- 

Newton,    Sir    Isaac,    (Philos.),    Philosophies   Naturalis 

Principia  Mathematica 1642-1727 

Nicolay,  John  George,  (Hist.),  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln 

{Collaborated    with   John    Hay) 1832-1901 

Noel,  Hon.  Koden,   (Poet),  A  Modern  Faust  ....     1834-1894 
Norris,  William  Edward,   (Nov.),  Adrian  Vidal   .      .      .     1847- 
North,  Christopher.    See  Wilson,  John. 

North,  Sir  Thomas,    (Trans.),  Plutarch's  Lives   .      .      .   11535-1603 
Norton,  Charles  Eliot,  (Trans.  &  Critic),  Historical  Study 

of  Church  Building   in   the  Middle  Ages    .      .     1827-1908 
Noyes,  Alfred,    (Poet),  Drake 1880- 

Ockley,  Simon,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  Conquest  of  Egypt, 

Persia  and  Syria,  etc 1678-1720 

Odell,  Jonathan,  (Poet  &  Satire),  The  Word  of  Congress  1737-1818 
Oliphant,   Laurence,    (Travel),    Episodes   in   a   Life    of 

Adventure 1829-1888 

Oliphant,  Mrs.  M.,  (Nov.),  Adam  Graeme 1828-1897 

Oppenheim,  E.  Phillips,   (Nov.),   The  Lighted  Way  .      .  1866- 

O'Eeilly,  John  Boyle,   (Poet),  Moondyne 1844-1890 

Orm   or   Ormin,    (Poet),    Ormulum 1187-1237 

O 'Shaughnessy,  Arthur,  (Poet),  Songs  of  a  Worker  .      .  1844-1881 
Otis,   James,    (Ess.),    Considerations   on    Behalf   of   the 

Colonies,  in  a  Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord  .      ,     .  1725-1783 

Otway,  Thomas,   (Drama),  Venice  Preserved   ....  1651-1685 
Ouida.     See  De  La  Ram^e. 

Oxenham,   John,    (Nov.),   John   of    Gerisan    ....  Modern 

Page,   Thomas  Nelson,    (Nov.),   The  Old  South   .      .      .  1853- 
Pain,  Barry,   (Hum.  &  Nov.),  Another  Englishwoman's 

Love  Letters 1867- 

Paine,  Robert  Treat,  (Poet),  The  Invention  of  Letters  .  1773-1811 

Paine,  Thomas,  (Philos.),  The  Age  of  Season  .      .     .      ,  1737-1809 


374  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name              Type  of  Worlc              Chief  Works  ^  Dates  Born-Died 
Paley,   William,    (Theol.   &   Philos.),*  The  Principles   of 

Moral   and  Political  Philosophy 1743-1805 

Palfrey,  John  Gorham,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  New  England  .  1796-1881 
Palgrave,  Sir  Francis,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  Normandy  and 

England 1788-1861 

Palgrave,  Francis   Turner,    (Poet),   Golden   Treasury  of 

English  Songs  and  Lyrics 1824-1897 

Palgrave,    William    G.,     (Trav.),     Essays     on     Eastern 

Questions         1826-1888 

Palmer,  George  Herbert,  (Philos.  &  Mis.),  The  Field  of 

Ethics          1842- 

Palmer,  John  Williamson,  (Poet,  Nov.  &  Mis.),  Stonewall 

Jackson's  Way;  After  His  Kind 1825-1906 

Paris,  Matthew,    (Hist.),  Historia  Major,   (Hist,  of  En- 
gland)          -1259 

Park,  Mungo,  (Trav.),  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  Africa  1771-1805 
Parker,  Sir  Gilbert,  (Poet  &  Nov.),  Seats  of  the  Mighty  1862- 
Parker,  Theodore,    (Theol.),  Discourse  on  Matters  Per- 
taining to  Beligio7i 1810-1860 

Parkman,  Francis,   (Hist.),  Oregon  Trail 1823-1893 

Parnell,  Thomas,  (Poet),  The  Hermit 1679-1718 

Parsons,    Theophilus,    (Legal),    Law     of    Business    for 

Business  Men 1797-1882 

Parton,  James,  (Biog.  &  Ess.),  Life  and  Times  of  Aaron 

Burr 1822-1891 

Paston  Family,  1460-1482,   (Hist.),  Letters:  Edited  by 

James  Gairdner,  3  vols.   (1872-1875)        .     From  1400-1506 
Pater,  Walter,   (Ess.  &  Mis.),  Studies  in  the  Hist,  of 

the  Renaissance 1839-1894 

Patmore,  Coventry  K.  D..   (Poet),  The  Unknown  Eros  .  1823-1896 

Pattison,  Mark,  (Biog.  &  Ess.),  Isaac  Casaubon,  1559-1614  1813-1884 

Paul,  Herbert,    (Hist.),  Hist,   of  Modern  England    .      .  1853- 

Paulding,  James  Kirke,  (Nov.  &  Ess.),  Salmagundi  .      .  1779-1860 

Payn,  James,   (Nov.  &  Ess.),  Married  Beneath  Him       .  1830-1898 
Payne,   John    Howard,    (Drama   &    Mis.),   Home,   Sweet 

Home 1792-1852 

Pearson,  John,    (Theol.),  Exposition  of  the  Creed    .      .  1612-1686 
Peckham,    John,    (Theol.    &    Philos.),    Collectanea    Bib- 

liorum         ?1240-1292 

Peele,  George.  (Drama  &  Poet),  The  Old  Wives'  Tale  .  1558-1598 

Pemberton.  Max,  (Nov.),  Iron  Pirate 1863- 

Penn,  William.  (Relig.),  A  Brief  Account  of  the  People 

Called    Quakers 1644-1718 

Pepys,  Samuel,  Diary 163.3-1703 

Percival,  James  Gates,   (Poet),  Prometheus     ....  1795-1856 
Percy,    Thomas,    (Poet),    Beliques    of    Ancient    English 

Poetry         1729-1811 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  375 

Namb             Type  of  Worlc              Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 

Petty,  Sir  William,   (Philos.),  Political  Arithmetic   .      .  1623-1687 

Philips,  John,    (Poet),  Splendid  Shilling 1676-1708 

Phillips,  Stephen,   (Poet),  Christ  in  Hades     ....  1866- 

Phillpotts,  Eden,  (Nov.),  The  Secret  Woman  ....  1862- 

Pierpont,  John,  (Poet),  Airs  from  Palestine  ....  1785-1866 
Pinero,  Sir  Arthur  W.,  (Drama),  The  Second  Mrs.  Tan- 

queray 1855- 

Poe,   Edgar   Allan,    (Poet),   Tales    (1840),    The  Baven 

(1845)         1809-1849 

Pollok,  Robert,  (Poet),  The  Course  of  Time  ....  1799-1827 

Pomfret,  John,   (Poet),  The  Choice 1667-1703 

Pope,    Alexander,    (Poet),    jRape    of    the    Lock    (1713), 

Dunciad  (1729),  Essay  on  Man  (1733)    .      .      .  1688-1744 
Porson,    Richard,    (Philology),    Translations    of    Greek 

Plays,  etc 1759-1808 

Porter,  Jane,   (Nov.),  Scottish  Chiefs 1776-1850 

Potter,  John,  (Hist.),  The  Antiquities  of  Greece  .      .      .  1674-1747 

Praed,  Winthrop  Mackworth,  (Poet  &  Ess.),  Lillian  .      .  1802-1839 

Prescott,  William  H.,  (Hist.),  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  .  1796-1859 
Priestley,  Joseph,  (Theol.,  Philos.  &  Mis.),  Institutes  of 

Natural  and   Eevealed   Beligion 1733-1804 

Prince,  John  Dyneley,   (Philol.),  Assyrian  Primer    .      .  1868- 
Prince,  Thomas,  (Theol.  &  Hist.),  Chronological  Hist,  of 

New  England  in  the  Form  of  Annals    .      .      .  1687-1758 

Prior,   Matthew,    (Poet),   Solomon 1664-1721 

Procter,     Bryan     W.,     ("Barry     Cornwall"),     (Poet), 

Mirandola 1787-1874 

Pnrchas,  Samuel,    (Trav.),  Pilgrimage   (1613),  Pilgrims 

(1625)        1577-1626 

Quarles,  Francis,   (Poet),  A  Feast  for  Wormes  .      .      .  1592-1644 

Quiller-Couch,  Sir  Arthur,   (Nov.),  Noughts  and  Crosses  1863- 

Badcliffe,  Anne,   (Nov.   &  Poet),   The  Romance  of  the 

Forest         1764-1823 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  (Hist.),  Eist.  of  the  World  .      .      .  1552-1618 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  (Ess.  &  Mis.),  The  English  Novel  .  —     — 

Ramsay,  Allan,  (Poet),  The  Gentle  Shepherd  ....  1685-1758 

Ray,  John,   (Nat.  &  Mis.),  Catalogus  plantarum  Angliae  1628-1705 

Read,  Thomas  Buchanan,  (Poet),  The  House  by  the  Sea  1822-1872 
Reade,  Charles,    (Nov    &  Drama),  The  Cloister  and  the 

Hearth        .  ' 1814-1884 

Reed,  Talbot  Baines,  (Nov.,  Juveniles),  The  Fifth  Form 

at  JSt.  Dominic's 1852-1893 

Beed,    Thomas,    (Philos.    &    Theol.),    Inquiry    into    the 

Human  Mind 1710-1796 


376  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name  Type  of  Worlc  Chief  Works  4-  Bates  Born-Died 

Ehodes,  James  Ford,  (Hist.),  Hist,  of  the  United  States 

from   the    Compromise   of    1850 1848-         1 

Khys,  Sir  John,    (Philologist),   Celtic  Heathendom    .      .  1840-         I 
Kicardo,  David,  (Pol.  Economist),  Principles  of  Political 

Economy  and  Taxation 1772-1823 

Eice,  Alice  Hegan,   (Nov.),  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Caihage 

Patch 1870- 

Rice,  James,  (Nov.),  Beady  Money  Mortiboy  ....  1843-1882 

In  collaboration  with  Sir  Walter  Besant 

Richard  of  St.  Victor,   (Theol.  &  Philos.) -1173 

Richardson,    Samuel,    (Nov.),    Pamela    (1740),    Clarissa 

Rarlowe   (1748) 1689-1761 

Ridge,  William  Pett,  (Nov.),  A  BreaTcer  of  Laves  .      .      .  1864-  i 

Riley,  James  Whitcomb,  (Poet  &  Hum.),  Pipes  0'  Pan  at 

Zekesbury         1853 

Eipley,  George,  (Philos.  &  Lexicographer),  Discourses  on 

the  Philosophy  of  Eeligion 1802-1880 

Eishanger,  William,   (Hist.),  Chronicles  of  England        .  1250-1312 
Eives,  Amelie,  (Princess  Troubetzkoy),  (Nov.),  The  Quick 

or  the  Dead 1863-  I 

Eobert  of  Gloucester,  (Hist.  &  Poet),  Rhyming  Chronicle 

of   England 1255-1307 

Eobertson,  William,  (Hist.),  History  of  Scotland  (1759), 

History    of    Charles    V.    of    Germany     (1769), 

History   of   America    (1777) 1721-1793 

Eochester,  Earl  of,    (John    Wilmot),    (Poet),    Poems  .  1648-1680 

Eoe,  Edward  Payson,   (Nov.),  Barriers  Burned  Away   .  1838-1888 
Eoger  of  Wendover,  (Hist.),  Flowers  of  History  .      .      .  ?1237 

Eogers,   Samuel,    (Ess.    &   Poet),   Human   Life    (1819), 

Pleasures  of  Memory   (1792) 1763-1855 

Eolle,  Richard,   (Poet),   The  Pricke  of  Conscience    .      .  ?1290-1349 

Romanes,  George  John,  (Sci),  Mental  Evolution  in  Man  1848-1894 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,    (Politics,   Hist.   &   Nov.),   Winning 

of  the  West 1858- 

Ropes,  John  Codman,   (Hist.),  The  First  Napoleon   .      .  1836-1899 

Roseoe,  William,  (Hist.),  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X.  1753-1831 

Roscommon,  Earl  of,   (Poet),  Art  of  Poetry   ....  1633-1684 

Eossetti,  Christina  Georgina,  (Poet),  Goblin  Market  .      .  1830-1894 

Rossetti,  Dante  Gabriel,   (Poet),  Ballads  and  Sonnets    .  1828-1882 

Rowe,  Nicholas,  (Drama),  Jane  Shore 1673-1718 

Ruskin,  John,  (Art  Critic),  Modern  Painters  ....  1819-1900 
Russell,    William    Clark,    (Nov.),     The     Wreck    of     the 

Grosvenor         1844-1911 

Eymer,   Thomas,   (Hist.),  Faedera 1641-1713 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF   AUTHORS  377 

Name              Type  of  Work              Chief  WorTcs  4-  Dates    Born-Died 
Sackvllle,   Thomas,    (Drama),  Gorboduc  {The  first  En- 
glish  tragedy)      1536-1608 

Saintsbury,  George,  (Critic  &  Mis.),  History  of  Criticism 

and  Literary   Taste  in  Europe 1845- 

Sandys,  George,  (Trans.,  Poet  &  Travels),  A  Paraphrase 

of  the  Psalms  of  David 1577-1644 

Santayana,  George,  (Poet),  The  Hermit  of  Carmel  .      .     1863- 

Barah  Grand.     See  MacFall. 

Savage,  Richard,   (Poet),  Sir  Thomas  Overbury   (1724), 

The   Wanderer    (1729) 1697-1743 

Saxe,  John  G.,  (Poet  &  Hum.),  New  Rape  of  the  Lock  .     1816-1887 

Schreiner,  Olive.     See  Cronwright. 

Scott,     Hugh     Stowell,      ("Henry    Seton     Merriman") 

(Nov.),   The  Sowers 1863-1903 

Scott,  Thomas,  (Theol.),  The  Force  of  Truth  ....      1747-1821 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  The  Lady  of  the  Lake 

(1810);    Waverley  Novels   (1814-1828)    .      .      .     1771-1832 
Scotus,  John  Duns  ("Duns  Scotus"),  (Theol.  &  Philos.), 

A  collective  edition  of  works  published  in  1639     1265-1308 
Seabury,   Samuel    ("Westchester   Farmer"),    (Theol.   & 

Pol.),  Series  of  Pamphlets 1729-1796 

Seaman,  Owen,    (Hum.  &  Nov.),  In  Cap  and  Bells   .      .      1861- 
Sedgwick,  Catharine  Maria,   (Nov.),  New  England  Tales     1789-1867 
Seeley,  Sir  John  Robert,   (Philos.  &  Hist.),  Ecce  Homo 

(1866),  Life  and   Times  of  Stein    (1879)    .      .      1834-1895 
Selden,  John,  (Hist.,  Legal  &  Mis.),  The  Duello,  or  Single 

Combat 1584-1654 

Shakespeare,  William,   (Drama) 1564-1616 

Shaw,  George  Bernard,  (Nov.  &  Drama),  Man  and  Super- 

vian 1856- 

Shea,  John  Dawson  G.,   (Hist.),  The  Catholic  Church  in 

America 1824-1892 

Shelley,  Percy  B.,  (Poet),  Prometheus  Unbound  (1819), 

The  Cenci    (1819)      1792-1822 

i  Shenstone,  William,  (Poet),  The  School-Mistress  .      .      .      1714-1763 
i  Shepard,  Thomas,  (Theol.),  New  England's  Lamentation 

for  Old  England's  Errours 1605-1649 

Sheridan,   Richard    Brinsley,    (Drama),    The   School    for 

Scandal       1751-1816 

Sherlock,  Thomas,   (Theol.),  The  Trial  of  the  Witnesses, 

etc 1678-1761 

Sherlock,  William,  (Thool.  &  Pol.),  A  Vindication  of  the 

;  Doctrine  of  Trinity 1641-1707 

!  Shirley,  James,   (Drama).  The  Traitor 1594-1666 

!  Shorter,  Clement  King,    (Ess.  &  Critic),  Sixty  Years  of 

Victorian  Literature 1858- 

1  Shorthouse,  Joseph  Henry,  (Nov.  &  Ess.),  John  Inglesaiit     1834-1903 


378  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name              Type  of  Work              Chief  Works  4"  Dates  Born-Died 

Sidgwiek,  Henry,  (Philos.),  The  Methods  of  Ethics  .      .  1838-1900 
Sidney,  Sir  Philip,    (Lit.  &  Poet),  Arcadia,  Apologie  of 

Poesie    (1581)       1554-1586 

Sigourney,  Lydia  Huntley,  (Poet),  Pocahontas,  and  other 

Poems          1791-1865 

Sill,  Edward  Eowland,   (Poet),  The  Hermitage   .      .      .  1841-1887 
Simms,  William  Gilmore,    (Nov.  &  Poet),   Guy  Rivers    .  1806-1870 
Skeat,  Walter  William,   (Philologist  and  Lexicographer), 
An  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English  Lan- 
guage      1835-1912 

Skelton,  John,  (Poet),  BooTce  of  Colin  Clout  ....  1460-1529 
Smart,  Hawley,  (Nov.),  Master  of  Rath  Kelly  .  .  .  1833-1893 
Smedley,  Francis  Edward,  (Nov.),  Frank  Farleigh  .  .  1818-1864 
Smiles,  Samuel,  (Hist.,  Biog.  &  Mis.),  Self  Help  .  .  1812-1904 
Smith,  Adam,  (Philos.),  The  Wealth  of  Nations  .  .  .  1723-1790 
Smith,  Benjamin  Eli,  (Lexicog.  &  Trans.),  Century  Dic- 
tionary          1857-1913 

Smith,  Captain  John,   (Hist.),  The  Generall  Historic  of 

Virginia,    etc, 1579-1631 

Smith,  Goldwin,  (Hist.  &  Mis.),  Canada  and  the  Canadian 

Question 1823-1910 

Smith,  Horace,    (Nov.  &  Poet),  Gale  Middleton    .      .      .  1779-1849 

Smith,  Sydney,  (Ess.  &  Pol.),  Peter  Plymley's  Letters   .  1771-1845 
Smith,    William    Eobertson,    (Theol.),    The   Prophets    of 

Israel     1846-1894 

Smollett,  Tobias,  (Nov.) ,  Roderick  Random  (1748);  Pere- 
grine Pickle  (1751);  Humphrey  Clinker   (1771)  1721-1771 

Somervile,  William,  (Poet),  The  Chace 1677-1742 

South,   Eobert,    (Theol.),   Sermons 1634-1716 

Southey,  Eobert,   (Poet  &  Hist.),  The  Curse  of  Kehama 

(1810);   Life  of  Nelson    (1813) 1774-1843 

Sparks,    Jared,    (Biog.    &   Hist.),   Library    of    American 

Biography        1789-1866 

Spedding,  James,    (Biog.),  Life  and  Letters  of  Francis 

Bacon 1808-1881 

Speed,  John,   (Hist.),  History  of  Great  Britain    .      .      .  1552-1629 

Spencer,  Herbert,    (Philos.),  Principles   of  Biology    .      .  1820-1903 
Spenser,  Edmund,  (Poet),  Shepherd's    Calendar    (1579); 

Faerie  Queene  (1590-1596) 1552-1599 

Spofford,  Harriet  E.,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  Sir  Rohan's  Ghost  .  1835- 
Spurgeon,    Charles    Haddon    (Theol.),    The    Treasury    of 

David 1834-1892 

Stanley.   Sir   Henry  M.,    (Travel),   In  Darkest   Africa    .  1841-1904 
Stannard,     Mrs.     Arthur,     ("John     Strange     Winter"), 

(Nov.),  Booties'  Baby 1856-1911 

Stedman,   Edmund   Clarence,    (Poet  &   Critic),   The  Dia- 
mond   Wedding 1833-1908 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  379 

Name             Type  of  Worlc              Chief  Works  Sr  Dates  Born-Died 
Steel,  Mrs,   Flora  Annie,    (Nov.),   On   the  Face  of  the 

Waters 1847- 

Steele,  Sir  Richard,  (Ess.),  The  Tatler  (1709) ;  Sir  Roger 

de  Coverley  in  No.  2  of  The  Spectator  .      .      .  1672-1729 

Stephen,  James  Kenneth,  (Poet  &  Satire),  Lapsus  Calami  1859-1892 
Stephen,  Sir  Leslie,  (Ess.  &  Biog.),  Dictionary  of  National 

Biography        . 1832-1904 

Sterne,  Laurence,   (Nov.),  Tristram  Shandy  (1759-1762), 

Sentimental  Journey    (1765)     1713-1768 

Stevens,  Augusta  de  Grasse,  (Nov.),  The  Lost  Dauphin, 

Louis  XVII abt.  1865-1894 

Stevenson,    Robert    Louis,    (Nov.),     The    New     Arabian 

Nights 1850-1894 

Stewart,  Dugald,  (Philos.),  Outlines  of  Moral  Philosophy  1753-1828 
Stimson,  Frederic  Jesup,   ("J.  S.,  of  Dale"),    (Nov.  & 

Legal),  The  Crime  of  Henry  Fane   ....  1855- 

Stockton,   Francis    (Frank)    R.,    (Nov.),   Rudder   Grange  1834-1902 
Stoddard,    Richard    Henry,    (Poet    &    Mis.),    Loves    and 

Heroines  of  the  Poets 1825-1903 

Stokes,  Sir  George  G.,  (Sci.  &  Philos.),  Natural  Theology  1819-1903 

Stowe,   Harriet   Beecher,    (Nov.),    Uncle    Tom's  Cabin    .  1812-1896 

Street,  Alfred   B.,    (Poet),  Frontenac 1811-1881 

Strutt,  Joseph,  (Hist.  &  Mis.),  The  Chronicles  of  England  1742-1802 
Stubbs,  William,   (Hist.),  Constitutional  History  of  En- 
gland       1825-1901 

Suckling,  Sir  John,  (Poet),  Session  of  the  Poets  .      .      .  1609-1642 
Sullivan,   Thomas    Russell,    (Nov.    &     Poet),    Roses    of 

Shadoiv 1849- 

Swift,  Jonathan,   (Nov.  &  Satire),  Gulliver's  Travels    .  1667-1745 

Swinburne,  Algernon  C,   (Poet),  Atalanta  in  Calydon    .  1837-1909 

Symonds,  John  A.,  (Hist.),  Renaissance  in  Italy   .      .      .  1840-1893 

Symons,  Arthur,  (Poet  &  Critic),  London  Nights  .      .      .  1865- 

Tarkington,  Booth,  Newton.     See  Newton. 

Tautphoeus,  Baroness,   (Nov.),  The  hiitials      ....  1807-1893 

Taylor,    Bayard,    (Nov.,    Poet    &    Mis.),    Poems    of    the 

Orient         1825-1878 

Taylor,  Sir  Henry,  (Poet  &  Drama),  Philip  van  Artevelde  1800-1886 
Taylor,  Jeremy,   (Theol.),  Holy  Living    (1650),  Life  of 

Christ    (1649) 1613-1667 

Tennyson,  Alfred,  Lord,    (Poet),   Morte  d' Arthur      .      .  1809-1892 
Tcrhune,  Mary  Virginia,   ("Marion  Harland"),   (Nov.), 

The   Hidden    Path 1831- 

Thackeray,  William  M.,  (Nov.),  Vanity  Fair  ....  1811-1863 

Thaxter,  Celia,  (Poet),  Among  the  Isles  of  Shoals    .      .  1836-1894 

Thompson,  Francis,   (Poet),  Poems 1859-1907 

Thompson,  Robert  Ellis,   (Economist  &  Tlieol.),  Elements 

of    Political   Economy 1S44- 


380  ESSENTIALS   OP   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name              Type  of  Work              Chief  WorJcs  4-  Dates  Born-Died 
Thompson,   Silvanus   Phillips,    (Biog.    &    Sci.),   Life    of 

Lord  Kelvin 1851- 

Thomson,  James,  (Poet),  The  Seasons  (1726-1730),  The 

Castle  of  Indolence   (1748),  Bule  Britannia     .  1700-1748 
Thomson,  James,  ("Bysshe  Vanolis"),  (Poet),  The  City 

of  Dreadful  Night 1834-1882 

Thomson,  Prof,  J.  Arthur,   (Sci.  &  Philos.),  Heredity   .  1861- 

Ticknor,  George,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  Spanish  Literature   .  1791-1871 
Thoreau,  Henry  David,  (Ess,  &  Naturalist),  Walden;  or, 

Life  in  the   Woods 1817-1862 

Thorpe,  Benjamin,  (Transl.  &  Mis.),  Northern  Mythology  1782-187Q 

Thorpe,  Sir  Edward,  (Sci.  &  Mis.),  Inorganic  Chemistry  1845- 

Thurslon,  Katherine  Cecil,    (Nov.),  John  Chilcote,  M.P.  1879-1911 

Timrod,  Henry,   (Poet),  Cotton  Boll 1829-1867 

Todhunter,  Dr.  John,   (Poet  &  Dramatist),  The  Banshee  1839- 
Tooke,  John  Home,  (Pol.  &  Philologist),  Winged  Words, 

or  the  Diversions   of  Purley 1736-1812 

Toplady,  Augustus  Montague,  (Hymns  &  Saered  Poems), 

Rock  of  Ages 1740-1778 

Tourgee,  Albion  Winegar,  (Nov.),  A  Royal  Gentleman  .  1838-1905 

Traill,  Henry  Duff,  (Ess.),  The  New  Lucian  ....  1842-1900 

Trollope,  Anthony,    (Nov.),   The   Warden 1815-1882 

Trollope,  Thomas  A.,  (Nov.),  La  Beata 1810-1892 

Trumbull,  John,   (Poet  &  Satire),  McFingal   ....  1750-1831 
Tusser,  Thomas,  (Husbandry  &  Poet),  A  Hundred  Good 

Points   of   Husbandrie 1527-1580 

Tuttiett,  Miss  M.  G.,  ("Maxwell  Gray"),  (Nov.  &  Poet), 

The  Silence  of  Dean  Maitland —    — 

Tyler,  Moses  Coit,   (Hist.  &  Biog.),  Hist,  of  American 

Literature 1835-1900 

Tynan,  Katherine,  (Mrs.  Hinkson),  (Poet),  Shamrocks  .  1861- 

Tyndale,  William,    (Theol.),   Transl.  of  New   Testament  1484-1536 
Tyndall,  John,   (Sci.  &  Mis.),  Heat  a  Mode  of  Action, 

and  other  scientific  papers 1820-1893 

Udal,  Nicholas,   (Drama  &  Trans.),  Ralph  Boyster  Doy- 

ster.  First  Comedy  in  English 1506-1556 

Usher,  James,    (Theol.  &  Philos.),  Body  of  Divinitie   .  1581-1656 

Vachell,  Horace  Annesley,  (Nov.),  The  Hill   ....  1861- 

Vanbrugh,  Sir  John,  (Drama),  The  Provoked  Wife  .     .  1664-1726 

Very,  Jones,  {Voet),  Essays  and  Poems 1813-1880 

Vizetelly,  Edward,  (Adventure),  From  Cyprus  to  Zanzibar  .1847-1903 
Vizetelly,  Ernest,  (Nov.  &  Trans.),  A  Lover's  Progress  .  1853- 
Vizetelly,  Henry  Richard,    (Mis.),  A   History  of  Cham- 
pagne;  The  Story  of  the  Diamond  Necklace    .  1820-1893 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  381 

Name             Type  of  WorJc              Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 

Wace,  (Hist.),  Boman  de  Brut 1100-1175 

Wake,  William,    (Theol.),   The  Genuine  Epistles  of  the 

Apostolical    Fathers 1657-1737 

Walker,    John,    (Lexicographer),     Outlines    of    English 

Grammar .  1732-1807 

Walkley,  Arthur  B.,  (Critic  &  Ess.),  Drama  and  Life  .  1855- 

Wallace,  Lewis,  (Nov.  &  Biog.),  Ben  ffur 1827-1905 

Waller,  Edmund,   (Poet),  Love  Songs  to  " Sacharissa," 

Lady  Dorothy   Sidney 1606-1687 

Walpole,  Horace,  (Lit.  &  Pol.),  Anecdotes  of  Painting  in 

England 1717-1797 

Walpole,  Sir  Spencer,  (Hist.  &  Pol.),  A  History  of  En- 
gland, from  the  Conclusion  of  the  Great  War 

in  1815 1839-1907 

Walsingham,  Thomas,   (Hist.),  Historia  Anglicana   .       d.  abt.  1422 

Walton,  Brian,  (Theol.  &  Lit.),  Polyglot  Bible   .      .      .  1600-1661 

W&lton,  Izaak,  (Sport) ,  The  Compleat  Angler  .      .      .      .  1593-1683 
Warburton,  William,  (Theol.  &  Critic),  Divine  Legation 

of  Moses 1698-1779 

Ward,  Adolphus  William,    (Hist.   &  Biog.),  History  of 

English  Dramatic  Literature 1837- 

Ward,  Artemus.     See  Browne,  Charles  F. 

Ward,  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps,  (Nov.),  Gates  Ajar       .  1844-1911 

Ward,    Mrs.     Humphry,     (Mary    A.    Arnold),     (Nov.), 

Bobert  Elsmere 1851- 

Ward,  Nathaniel,  (Theol.  &  Philos.),  The  Simple  Cobler 

of  Agavvam  in  America abt.  1570-1653 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  (Hum.  &  Poet),  My  Summer  in 

a  Garden 1829-1900 

Warton,  Thomas,  (Poet),  The  Triumph  of  Isis   .      .      .  1728-1790 

Watson,  H.  B.  Marriott,  (Nov.  &  Dramatist),  Marahuna  1863- 
Watson,  Rev.  John,  ("Ian  Maclaren"),   (Nov.),  Beside 

the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush 1850-1907 

Watson,  William,  (Poet),  The  Tear  of  Shame  ....  1858- 

Watts,  Isaac,    (Hymns),   The  Psalms  of  David   .     .     .  1674-1748 

Watts-Dunton,   Theodore,    (Poet   &   Nov.),  Aylwin    .      .  1836- 

Webster,  Augusta,   (Poet),  The  Auspicious  Day  .      .     .  1840-1894 

Webster,  John,    (Drama),  The   White  Devil    ....  1580-1625 
Webster,  Noah,   (Philologist  &  Lexicographer),  Diction- 
ary of  the  English  Language,  1st  edition,  1828, 

2nd  edition,  1840 1758-1843 

Wells,  H.  G.,  (Nov.  &  Ess.),  Kipps 1866- 

Wendell,  Barrett,  (Lit.),  A.  Hist,  of  American  Literature  1855- 

Wesley,  John,  (Hymns  &  Theol.),  Hymns,  Journal   .      .  1703-1791 
Westcott,    Brooke    Foss,    (Theol.),    The    Gospel    of    the 

Besurrection 1825-1901 

Weyman,  Stanley  J.,  (Nov.),  A  Gentleman  of  France   .  1855- 


382  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

Name             Type  of  Work              Chief  Works  4"  Hates  Born-Died 

Wharton,  Mrs.  Edith,  (Nov.),  The  Valley  of  Decision   .  1862- 

Whately,  Abp.  Eichard,   (Philos.),  Christian  Evidence   .  1787-1863 
Whetham,   William    C.    D.,    (Sci.    &   Mis.),    The   Mecent 

Development  of  Physical  Science 1867- 

Whewell,  W.,  (Mis.),  Philosophy  of  the  Inductive  Sciences  1794-1866 

White,  Gilbert,  (Nat.),  The  Natural  History  of  Selborne  1720-1793 
White,  Eichard  Grant,  (Philologist  &  Mis.),  Every  Day 

English 1821-1885 

White,  William   Hale,    ("Mark  Eutherford"),    (Nov.), 

The   Autobiography   of   Mark   Butherford    .      .  1857- 

Whiteing,  Eichard,    (Nov.),  No.  5  John  Street   .      .      .  1840- 

Whitman,  Walt,  (Walter),  (Poet),  Leaves  of  Grass  .      .  1819-1892 

Whitney,  Adeline  D.,   (Nov.),  Faith  Gartney's  Girlhood  1824-1906 
Whitney,    William    Dwight,     (Philologist    &    Lexicog.), 

Editor   of   The  Century  Dictionary    ....  1827-1894 

Whittier,   John   Greenleaf,    (Poet),   Mogg   Megone    .      .  1807-1892 

Whymper,  Edward,  (Travel),  Scrambles  among  the  Alps  1840-1911 

Whyte-Melville,  G.  J.,  (Nov.),  Kate  Coventry  ....  1821-1878 
Wiggin,  Kate  Douglas,   (Nov.),  Eebecc'a  of  Sunnybrook 

Farm 1857- 

Wigglesworth,  Michael,  (Theol.  &  Poet),  Day  of  Doom  .  1631-1715 

Wilde,  Oscar,  (Nov.  &  Poet),  Lady  Windermere's  Fan  .  1856-1900 
William  of  Malmesbury,   (Hist.),  History  of  the  Kings 

of  England   (De  Gestis  Begum) 1095-1143 

William  of  Newburgh,   (Hist.),  Hist,  of  English  Affairs  1136-1198 
Williams,  Eoger,  (Theol.),  The  Bloody  Tenent  of  Perse- 
cution      1599-1683 

Willis,  Nathaniel  P.,  (Poet  &  Mis.),  Pencilings  by  the 

Way 1806-1867 

Wilson,  John,  (Poet),  7s?e  of  Paifms 1785-1854 

Wilson,  Woodrow  (Thomas),  (Politics  &  Hist.),  The  State  1856- 
Winsor,  Justin,   (Hist.),  Narrative  and  Critical  History 

of  America 1831-1897 

Winthrop,  John,   (Hist.),  History  of  New  England  .      .  1588-1649 

Wirt,  William,   (Biog.),  Life  of  Patrick  Henry   .      .      .  1772-1834 

Wister,  Owen,    (Nov.),  The  Virginian 1860- 

Wither,  George,  (Poet  &  Mis.),  Faire-Virtue  ....  1588-1667 
Wolcot,    John    ("Peter    Pindar"),    (Poet    &     Satire), 

Expostulatory  Odes 1738-1819 

Wood,  M.  A.  E.    See  Green,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Everett. 

Wood,  Mrs.   Henry,    (Nov.),  East  Lynne    .....  1814-1887 

Wood,  William,    (Hist.),  New  England's  Prospect    .      .  1580-1639 
Woodberry,  George  Edward,  (Biog.  &  Poet),  Edgar  Allan 

Poe,  ("American  Men  of  Letters  Series")   .      .  1855- 
Woodworth,  Samuel,    (Nov.   &  Poet),   The  Champion  of 

Freedom .  1785-1842 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  383 

Name  Type  of  Work  Chief  Works  4-  Dates  Born-Died 
Woolman,  John,   (Philos.),  Some  Considerations  on  the 

Keeping  of  Negroes 1720-1772 

Woolson,  Constance  Fenimore,  (Nov.),  Castle  Nowhere  .  1848-1894 
Worcester,  Joseph  Emerson,  (Lexicographer),  Dictionary 

of  the  English  Language 1784-1865 

Wordsworth,  William,  (Poet),  Lyrical  Ballads  .  .  .  1770-1850 
Wotton,    Sir    Henry,    (Poet   &   Lit.),    The   Elements   of 

Architecture 1568-1639 

Wyatt,  Sir  Thomas,  (Poet),  Sonnets  and  Lyrics,  first  in 

England 1503-1542 

Wycherley,  William,    (^rama).   The  Country   Wife   .      .  1640-1716 

Wycliflfe,  John,   (Theol.),   Translation  of  Bible   .      .      .  1325-1384 

Yates,  Edmund,  (Nov.),  Sunning  the  Gauntlet  .  .  .  1831-1894 
Yeats,  William  Butler,  (Poet  &  Nov.),  The  Wanderings 

of  Oisin 1865- 

Yonge,  Charlotte  M.,  (Nov.),  The  Heir  of  Bedclyfe  .      .  1823-1901 

Young,  Edward,  (Poet),  Night  Thoughts 1683-1765 

Zangwill,  Israel,  (Nov,  &  Drama),  The  Master  .      .     ,  1864- 


384  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 


A  Hundred  Best  Books 

The  following  is  a  selection  of  one  hundred  books  made  by  the 

late  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart.  (Lord  Avebury).  "A  splendid  treasury 
of  deep  thought,  of  romance,  of  wit,  of  travel,  and  of  history. '  '—The 
Daily  Telegraph,  London,  England. 

1.  The  Bible,     Authorized  version. 

2.  Voyage  of  a  Naturalist.     Darwin. 

3.  Meditations.     Marcus  Aurelius. 

4.  The  Teachings  of  Epictetus. 

5.  Essays.     Bacon. 

6.  Principles  of  Political  Economy.     Mill. 

7.  History  of  the  French  Eevolution.     Carlyle. 

8.  Self-Help.     Samuel  Smiles. 

9.  Natural  History  of  Selborne.     White. 

10.  The  Pickwick  Papers.     Dickens. 

11.  The  Shi-King:    Chinese  National  Poetry    (transl.). 

12.  Homer.     Transl.  by  Pope. 

13.  Vergil.     Transl.   by  Dryden. 

14.  Essays  (transl.).     Montaigne. 

15.  System  of  Logic.     Mill. 

16.  Biographical  History  of  Philosophy.     Lewis   (Lewes). 

17.  Vanity  Fair.     Thackeray. 

18.  The  Shah  Nameh   (transl.).     Firdausi. 

19.  Three  Voyages  Bound  the  World.     Capt.  Cook. 

20.  Vicar  of  Wakefield.     Goldsmith. 

21.  William  Tell   (transl.).     Schiller. 

22.  The  Koran.     Transl.     By  Sale. 

23.  Plays  and  Poems.     Shakespeare. 

24.  Life  of  Johnson.     Boswell. 

25.  Ivanhoe.     Sir  W.  Scott. 

26.  Pendennis.     Thackeray, 

27.  Thucydides    (transl.). 

28.  David  Copperfield.     Dickens. 

29.  Childe  Harold.     Byron. 

30.  Plays  (transl.).     ^schylus. 

31.  Wealth  of  Nations.     Adam  Smith. 

32.  Canterbury  Tales.     Chaucer. 

33.  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire;  2  vols.     Gibbon. 

34.  Dialogues  of  Plato  (transl.). 


A  HUNDRED  BEST  BOOKS  335 

35.  Don  Quixote  (transl.).     Cervantes. 

36.  Plays.     Sheridan. 

37.  Kobinson  Crusoe.     Defoe. 

38.  Poetical  Works.     Dryden. 

39.  Lives  of  the  Greeks  and  Eomans  (transl.).     Plutarch. 

40.  Last  Days  of  Pompeii.     Lytton. 

41.  Past  and  Present.     Carlyle. 

42.  Pilgrim's  Progress.     Bunyan. 

43.  Ethics   (transl.).     Aristotle. 

44.  Apostolic  Fathers.     Wake. 

45.  Novum  Organum.     Bacon. 

46.  On  the  Crown   (transl.).     Demosthenes. 

47.  Thoughts  on  Keligion  (transl.).     Pascal. 

48.  Human  Knowledge.     Berkeley. 

49.  Morte  d 'Arthur.     Malory. 

50.  Essays.     Emerson. 

51.  The  NibelungenUed    (transl.). 

52.  Selections  from  Speeches  and  Writings.     Burke. 

53.  Faerie  Queene.     Spenser. 

54.  Gulliver's  Travels.     Swift. 

55.  Politics    (transl.).     Aristotle. 

56.  Poetical  Works.     Sir  W.  Scott. 

57.  Arabian  Nights,  The. 

58.  Poetical  Works.     Burns. 

59.  The  Imitation  of  Christ.     Thomas  k  Kempis. 

60.  Divine  Comedy  (Longfellow's  transl.).     Dante. 

61.  Plays   (transl.).     Moliere. 

62.  Poetical  Works.     Milton. 

63.  Faust   (transl.).     Goethe. 

64.  The  Christian  Year.     Keble. 

65.  Essays  and  Lays  of  Ancient  Eome.     Macaulay, 

66.  Analogy  of  Religion.     Butler. 

67.  Odes  (Lytton 's  transl.).     Horace. 

68.  Poetical  Works.     Wordsworth. 

69.  Plays.     Aristophanes. 

70.  Poems.     Gray. 

71.  History  of  England,  3  vols.     Hume. 

72.  On  the  Human  Understanding.     Locke. 

73.  Essays.     Addison. 

74.  Holy  Living  and  Holy  Dying.     Taylor. 

75.  Essays.     Hume. 

76.  Offices,  Friendship,  and  Old  Age  (transl.).     Cicero. 


386  ESSENTIALS   OF   ENGLISH   SPEECH 

77.  Works  (transl.)-     Hesiod. 

78.  Anabasis  and  Memorabilia   (transl.).     Xenophon. 

79.  Zadig  et  Micromegas  (transl.).     Voltaire. 

80.  CEuvres.     Moliere. 

81.  Sakoontalia  of  The  Lost  Ring  (trans,  from  Sanskrit).  Kalidasa. 

82.  Discours  de  la  Methode.     Descartes. 

83 — 84.     Livy,  History,  bks.  i-v;   Tacitus 's  Germania  and  Agricola 
(transl.). 

85.  The  Antiquary;  steel  plates.     Sir  W.  Scott. 

86.  Travels,  3  vols,   (transl.).     Humboldt. 

87.  Confessions.     St.  Augustine. 

88.  The  Origin  of  Species.     Darwin. 

89.  Westward  Ho!     Kingsley. 

90.  Short  History  of  the  English  People.     Green, 

91.  Tractatus   Theologico-Politicus.     Spinoza. 

92.  Adam  Bede.     "George  Eliot." 

93.  The  Analects   (transl.).     Confucius. 

94.  Buddha.     St.  Hilaire. 

95.  Plays.     Sophocles. 

96.  Plays.     Euripides. 

97.  Essay  on  Man,  etc.     Pope. 

98 — 99.     The  Eamayana  and  The  Mahabarata;  1  vol. 
100.     Herodotus  (transl.). 


INDEX 


387 


INDEX 


A,  the  letter  and  its  varying  sounds, 
131. 

"a,"  the  sound  and  symbol  In  the 
N.  E.  A.  Alphabet,  293. 

"a,"  the  sound  and  symbol  in  the 
N.  E.  A.  Alphabet,  291. 

Abbott  (Dr.  E.  A.),  on  dropping  of 
inflections,  54. 

Aberdeenshire  dialect,  47. 

Absolute  (superlative)  defined,  225. 

Accent,  American,  334  ;  Robert  L. 
Stevenson  on  American  and  Brit- 
ish, 334. 

Accuracy  Indispensable  to  writing 
for  publication,  315. 

"Act"  defined,  190. 

"Active  voice"  defined,  249. 

Addison,  Joseph,  323 ;  on  the  puri- 
fication of  the  language,  342 ; 
starts  "The  Spectator,"  137. 

"Adjective"  defined,  254. 

"Advancement  of  Learning,"  by 
Francis  Bacon,  113. 

"Adverb"  defined,  255. 

"Adverb  phrase"  defined,  256. 

"Adverbial  clause"  defined,  255. 

"Adverbial  phrase"  defined,  256. 

Advocacy  not  lexicography,  222. 

Aelle,  see  Ella. 

Aeronautics  in  the  Dictionary,  223. 

Aesc  and  Ella  allies  of  Cerdlc,  4. 

Aesc  and  Hengest  defeat  Britons  at 
Wlppedesfleot,  4. 

iEthelrlc,  see  Ethelric. 

"Affairs  and  State  of  Germany" ; 
Report  and  Discourse,  by  Asch- 
am,  76. 

Affectation  of  speech,  British,  272. 

African  terms  in  English,  170. 

"fll,"  the  diphthong  in  the  N.  B.  A. 
Alphabet  and  Webster's  New  In- 
ternational Dictionary,  292. 

889 


Ain't,  340. 

Albion,  origin  of  the  name,  1. 

"Alchemist,"  by  Jonson,  106. 

Alfred,  "the  Great,"  10  ;  defeats  the 
Danes,  20 ;  his  worlts,  19 ;  para- 
phrases Boethlus's  "Consolation," 
20. 

Alfred  of  Beverley  abridges  Geof- 
frey's "History,"  27. 

Alfric   the  Grammarian,   22. 

"Allegory"  defined,  178,  179. 

Alliteration  in  Anglo-Saxon  ro- 
mance, 199 ;  In  early  English 
verse,  199. 

"Alphabet"  defined,  239,  240. 

Alphabet  (English),  Inadequate, 
132 ;  (National  Education  Asso- 
ciation), why  devised,  297;  num- 
ber of  letters  in  different,  239, 
240. 

—  recommended  by  the  N.  E.  A., 
288. 

Alphabet,   the  Scientific,   275. 

—  proclaimed  "a  triumphant  cre- 
ation of  philological  genius," 
284. 

American  accent,  334  ;  dialect,  333  ; 
provincialism,  334 ;  slang,  333, 
334. 

American-Indian  words  In  English, 
169. 

American  lexicology,  172. 

American  Philological  Association, 
286,  289,  203,  294. 

Amicis  (Edmondo  de)  on  the  dic- 
tionary, 226,  231. 

"Amorette,"  by  Spenser,   82. 

Amsterdam,  first  English  "Cou- 
rants"  printed  at,  133. 

Analogy  and  correctnoss,  .T.TO. 

Anderida  beset  by  AcUo  and  Cissa, 
4. 


390 


INDEX 


Angevin  introduced,  25. 

Angles  arrive  in  Britain,  3 ;  con- 
quer Britain,  5 ;  found  Bernicia 
(Northumbria),  5;  Deira,  and 
Mercia,  8 ;  people  of  Kent.  9 ; 
Anglia    produces    a   literature,    14. 

Anglo-Saxon,  1-10 ;  words  in  the 
Bible,  percentage  of,  123. 

"Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,"  5,  9,  10; 
number  and  location  of  mami- 
scripts,  21 ;  specimen  from,  22. 

Anglo-Saxon  Period,  11,  12-23. 

Antwerp,  Gazette  of,  134. 

Aorist,  the,  252. 

Apocrypha,  Statistics  of  the  Con- 
tents of  the,  123. 

"Apolog"  defined,  179. 

"Apologie  for  Poesie,"  by  Sidney, 
82. 

Appendix,  351-383. 

"Arcades"  by  Milton,  126. 

"Areopagitica"  by  Milton,  127. 

Army  (British)  officers'  pronuncia- 
tion, 271-272. 

Arnold  (Dr.  Thomas),  on  the 
Miracle  Plays,  90 ;  on  reading, 
310. 

Arose  nsed  for  "arisen,"  147. 

Arthurian  romance,  180. 

Ascham,  Roger,  75;  adopted,  75; 
advice  on  manner  of  speech,  76; 
appointed  Secretary  to  German 
ambassador,  76;  appointed  tutor 
to  Princess  Elizabeth,  76;  edu- 
cation, 75;  death,  76;  Ascham 
opposes  use  of  foreign  words,  77 ; 
quality  of  his  English,  75;  re- 
ceives notice  and  reward  from 
Henry  VIII.,  76;  Report  and 
Discourse  of  the  Affairs  and 
State  of  Germany,  76;  Ascham 
used  double  negative,  144;  used 
"news"  as  a  plural,  155. 

Associated  Colleges  and  Prepara- 
tory Schools  of  the  United  States, 
Conference  of,  208-211,  311. 

Assonance,  199. 

"Astrophel  and  Stella"  by  Sidney, 
82. 

"Atlantic  Monthly,"  Havelock  Ellis 
in,  322. 

Attic  comedy,   189. 

"au,"  the  diphthong  in  the  N.  E.  A. 
alphabet,  292. 


Australian  terms  in  English,   169. 
Authorship,  Emerson  on,  316. 
Authorized     Version     of     the     Bible, 

influence  on  the  language,  123. 
Authors,  Partial  list  of,  351-383. 
Auxiliary  verb  defined,  248. 
Avebury      (Lord),      Hundred      Best 

Books,  384. 
Average    man,    vocabulary    of,    214- 

219. 
Avery     (Elroy)     on    good     English, 

338. 

Bacon,  Francis,  111-116;  "Advance- 
ment of  Learning,"  113 ;  Essays, 
112,  115-116;  Chancellor  (Lord 
High)  of  England,  112;  Bacon 
impeached  and  imprisoned  in 
the  Tower,  112;  influence  on 
scientific  thought,  114;  his  "In- 
stauratio  Magna,"  113;  "History 
of  King  Henry  VII.,"  114;  "New 
Atlantis,"  114;  "Novum  Or- 
ganum,"  112;  views  of  contem- 
poraries on,  114;  specimen  from 
Essays  "On  Learning,"  115-116; 
sudden  death,  115. 

Bailey,  Nathan,   131,  146. 

"Balades,"  by  Gower,  46. 

Bale  on  the  destruction  of  books, 
68. 

"Ballad,"  defined,  192,  202,  204-205. 

—  (literary)   defined,  205. 

Balliet,  T.  M.,  287. 

Barbour,  John,  48-49. 

Barebone  (Praise  God)  and  the 
drama,  185-186. 

Barker  (Richard),  King's  printer, 
117. 

"Bartholomaaus  de  Proprietatibus 
Rerum,"  printed  by  Caxton,  56. 

Baxter  (C.  J.)  on  the  Scientific 
Alphabet,  278. 

Baynes  (Prof.  Spencer)  on  Shake- 
speare's manner,  97,  98. 

Beastis,  heastise.a,   142. 

Beaton,  Cardinal,  78. 

Beda  (Bede),  his  birth,  death,  fcnd 
work,  19. 

Bejel  used  for  "befallen,"  147. 

Beginners,  difficulties  that  beset, 
320-321. 

Belgas,  1. 

Belles-lettres.  175,  176. 


INDEX 


391 


"Beowulf,"  17,  181,  203. 

Bernicia,  55 ;  ruled  by  Ida  the 
Torch-bearer,  5 ;  united  with 
Deira  under  Oswy,  6. 

Bible,  English  (The),  116-124  ;  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  on  the,  121 ;  books 
in,  number  of,  123-124 ;  chapters 
In  number  of,  123-124  ;  character- 
istics of,  117  ;  Daniel  Webster's 
view  of,  121 ;  Edward  Everett  on, 
122  ;  Horace  Greeley  on,  121 ;  In- 
fluence of,  117  ;  letters  In,  num- 
ber of,  123-124  ;  Macaulay's  esti- 
mate of,  121 ;  objective  case  used 
for  the  nominative  In,  153 ;  per- 
centage of  Anglo-Saxon  words  In, 
123 ;  Prince  of  Granada's  statis- 
tics of  the,  124  ;  printed  by  King's 
printer,  117 ;  rhythm  of,  119 ; 
statistics  of  its  contents.  123- 
124  ;  style  of,  117  ;  time  taken  to 
print,  117  ;  veneration  in  which 
King  James  version  is  held,  123  ; 
verses  in,  number  of.  123-124 ; 
William  H.  Taft  on,  122  ;  words 
In,  number  of,  123-124. 

Rible,  the  Groat,  58. 

Blble-storics  of  Caedmon,  15. 

Bishop's   Bible,   116. 

"Bishop's  Book,"  67. 

Blackfriars  Theater,  Shakespeare's 
connection  with,  100. 

Blades,  William,  on  Caxton's  rela- 
tion to  Mansion,  54,  56. 

"Blank  verse"  defined,  198. 

Blending  of  French  and  English,  35. 

Boccaccio  in  Florence,  42. 

Bohn's  Standard  Library,  311. 

Bolleau  on  "gros"  and  "grand,"  141. 

"Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  The,  67, 
151. 

"Book  of  Martyrs,"  73,  75. 

Books,  influence  of,  53. 

"Boston  Evening  Transcript"  on 
the  dictionary,  212-213. 

Bretlgny,  Peace  of,  35. 

Brevity,  54. 

Bright,  James  W.,  287. 

Britain,  Angles,  Jutes,  and  Saxons 
land  in,  3. 

British  Museum's  collection  of 
Caxton  volumes,  59 ;  collection 
of  "Courants,"  132-135. 

British  power  in  Sussex  broken,  4. 


Britons  beat  back  the  Jutes,  3-4 ; 
defeated  at  Charford,  5. 

Brown  (Goold),  and  the  split  infini- 
tive, 156 ;  "Grammar  of  English 
Grammars,"  266-267. 

Bruce,  The,  extract  from,  49. 

"Brut  d'Angleterre,"  31. 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,  324. 

Buchanan  (George),  77-80;  ap- 
pointed tutor  by  King  James  V. 
of  Scotland,  78 ;  appointed  tutor 
to  Earl  of  Cassills.  78  ;  appointed 
tutor  to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
79  ;  "De  Jure  Regnl  Apud  Scotos" 
burned  by  the  scholars  at  Oxford, 
80 ;  influence  on  language,  80 ; 
principal  of  St.  Leonard's  College 
at  St.  Andrew's,  79  ;  translation 
of  the  Psalms,  79  ;  tutor  to  James 
VI.  of  Scotland,  79 ;  writes  a 
"History  of  Scotland,"  80. 

Buckhurst,  Lord,  see  Sackvillb, 
Thomas. 

Bunyan  (John),  Spenser's  influence 
on  the  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  85. 

Burbage,  James,  100. 

Burke  (Edmund)  and  precision, 
317. 

"Burlesque"  defined,  190. 

Burney,  Frances,  330. 

Burns,  Influence  of  Spenser  on,  85  ; 
split  Infinitive  used  by,  157. 

Butter,  Nathaniel,  prints  English 
"Courants,"  133. 

Byron,  influence  of  Spenser  on,  85  ; 
split  infinitive  used  by,  157. 

"Bystander"  (The),  London,  on 
English  speech,  335. 

Cadsant,  battle  of,  35. 

Caedmon  (Cedmon),  14;  "Genesis," 
15 ;  poems  published,  15. 

Cscsar  In  Britain,  1. 

Cambridge,  England,  Founding  of 
the  University  of,  23 ;  printer 
from  Cologne  begins  work  at,  58. 

Camden,  William,  befriends  Ben 
Jonson,  105. 

Cameron  (Ruth),  on  books  for 
children's  reading,  312,  313. 

Canby  (Professor  H.  S.),  on  read- 
ing by  undergraduates,  306-307. 

"Canterbury  Tales,"  42. 


392 


INDEX 


Carlyle  (Thomas),  on  literature, 
174. 

"Case  is  Altered,"  by  Jonson,  106. 

"Case"  defined,  244-245. 

Cassiterides,  1. 

"Catiline"  by  Jonson,  106. 

Cawdrey,  Robert,  130. 

Caxton,  William,  54-62 ;  dates  of 
the  printing  of  his  books,  56 ; 
press  set  up  in  Westminster,  56  ; 
prints,  the  works  of  Chaucer  and 
Malory,  59. 

Coltae,  1. 

Celts  found  by  the  Romans,  1. 

Cerdic  arrives  on  shores  of  South- 
ampton Water,  4 ;  ally  of  Aesc 
and  Ella,  4  ;  defeats  Britons  at 
Charford,  5. 

Cerdicesora,  Cerdic  and  Cymric 
land  at,  4  ;  located,  4. 

Chandos  Classics,  310. 

Chansons  de  geste,  179. 

Chappell,  William,  tutor  to  Milton, 
125. 

Characteristics  of  poetry,  194. 

Charford  scene  of  British  defeat  by 
Cerdic,  5. 

Chatham  (Earl  of),  how  he  acquired 
his  vocabulary,  220. 

Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  36,  159  ;  his  life 
and  work,  40-44  ;  foreign  words 
in,  44 ;  in  the  "Canterbury 
Tales,"  165 ;  forms  "am," 
"weren,"  retained  in,  155 ;  not 
maker  of  the  English  language, 
159. 

Chaucerian,  English  specimen  of, 
42-43. 

—  Period,  11,  34-39. 

Chautauqua  Institution,  Dr.  Fer- 
nald's  address  before  the,  265. 

Chesterfield's  (Lord),  "Letters  to 
his  Son,"  329. 

Chester  Mysteries,  91. 

Chesty,   341. 

Chettle  collaborates  with  Ben  Jon- 
son. 106. 

Children,  books  for.  311-312. 

Child's  memory  severely  taxed.  270. 

Chinese  terms  in  English,  169. 

Choate  (Rufus),  habit  of  reading, 
307. 


"Christian  Work  and  Evangelist," 
Editor  of  (quoted  on  the  split 
infinitive),  158. 

"Chrlstis  Kirk  on  the  Grene,"  47. 

"Chronicle  of  Cologne,"  first  pub- 
lished, 51. 

Churchmen  check  Influence  of  min- 
strels, 34. 

Cicero  on  literature,  174 ;  on  the 
use  and  command  of  words,  220. 

Cissa  lands  at  Cymenesora,  4. 

Clarke,  Adrian  prints  an  English 
Courant  at  the  Hague,  133. 

Classic,  Sainte-Beuve's  definition  of 
a,  309-310. 

Classical  philology,  238. 

Clause    (adverbial)    defined,   255. 

Clofesho,  Council  of,  18. 

Coar  (Thomas),  diagrams  In  his 
grammar,  261. 

Cobden,  Richard,  and  the  repeal  of 
the  Newspaper  Stamp  Tax.  136. 

Coffee-houses  as  news-centers,  135. 

Cole,  Dr.,  becomes  Hooker's  patron, 
86. 

Coleridge,  Influence  of  Spenser  on, 
85. 

Coleridge's  description  of  classes 
of  readers,  305. 

"Colin  Clout,"  71. 

Colleague  as  a  verb,  144. 

"College  Exercise,"  129. 

Collier  (Dr.  W.  F.),  on  "i'aradlse 
Lost,"  128. 

Comedies  by  Jonson,  106. 

—  by   Shakespeare,   98. 
Comedv   defined,   188. 

—  (light)    defined,   189. 

—  (low)  defined,  189. 

—  (musical),   189. 
Commandement,  141,  142. 
Committee,    Members    of    National 

Education  Association  Committee, 

287. 
Committee   on    Pronunciation,   Nat- 
ional Education  Association,  298, 

299. 
Common    people,    Ascham     on     the 

speech  of,  76-77. 
Comcedia    paUiata,    188 ;    prcetexta, 

188 ;     tabernaria,     188 ;     tbgata, 

188  ;  trabcata,  188. 
"Comparative  degree"  defined,  254- 

255. 


INDEX 


393 


Comparative   literature,    176. 

—  philology,  238. 
"Comparison"  defined,  254. 

—  In  rhetoric,  195. 

Complaint  of  Henry,  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, 94. 
"Comus,"  126. 
"Confesslo  Amantls,"   45. 
Confusion  of  grammatical  forms,  24. 

—  of  spelling,  53. 

Coiigreve   (William),  Plays  of,  93; 

"fetch  a  walk"  used  by,  150. 
"Conjunction"  defined,  256. 
"Conjunctive      pronoun"      defined, 

246. 
Construction,  artistic,  175. 

—  on  correct,  339. 
"Constructive  faculty"  or  imagina- 
tion defined,  175. 

Conway  on  the  Bible,  121, 

Cook     (Professor    Albert)     on    the 

vocabularies  of  Shakespeare  and 

Milton  (note),  215. 
Cook    (Professor    H.    Caldwell)    on 

pronunciation,  271. 
"Coordinate    conjunction"     defined, 

256. 
Correct  use  of  words,  310. 
Correctness  of  form  in  English,  339. 
Corruption  of  Speech,  On  the,  332- 

348. 
Corruptions  of  English  described  by 

"The   Bystander,"    London.    335; 

undergo  refining  process,  348. 
Coster,    Lorenzo,    50. 
Coster  cuts  wooden  type,  51. 
Council  of  Clofesho,  18. 
"Courants,"  English,  the  early,  132- 

135 ;    extracts    from    early    En- 
glish, 134. 
Coventry  Mysteries,  90. 
Coverdale,  Miles,  67,  70-71 ;  trans- 
lator   of    first    complete    English 

Bible,  70. 
Cralk,   Dr.   George  L.,  on   English, 

77 ;   on   Shakespeare,   102. 
Cranmer,  Thomas,  66  ;  Bible,  67. 
Crldda,  King  of  Mercla,  6. 
"Crist,"  18. 
Cross    (Wilbur  L.),   on   the  Novel, 

182,  183. 
Crusades,  effect  of  the,  35. 
Cullum  on  uses  of  "task"  and  "tax," 

146. 


Curioait]/  (scrupulousness),  143. 

Curious  (exact),  143. 

Curves  and  Curlicues  used  to  indi- 
cate pronunciation  confusing, 
270-271. 

Cushman  (Charlotte),  on  the 
drama,  187. 

Cut  that  out,  337. 

Cymen  lands  at  Cymenesora,  4. 

Cymenesora  identified,  4. 

Cymric  lands,  4. 

Cymry  attacked  by  Plcts  and  Scots, 
3. 

Cynewulf  identified ;  his  works,  18. 

Dale,  Phyllis,   345. 

Dana,  Charles  Anderson,  323. 

Danes   partition   Delra,   6. 

Danish  incursions,  effect  of,  22-23 ; 
words  in  English,  101.  168,  169. 

Dante's  "Dlvlna  Commedla,"  189, 

D'Arblay,  Madame,  330. 

De  Augmentis  Scientiarum,  113. 

Defoe's  "Review"  pioneer  of  En- 
glish  periodical  literature,  136. 

Degree  defined,  254. 

Delra  colonized,  6 ;  extinct  as  a 
political  division,  6  ;  located,  6  ; 
partitioned  by  Danes,  6  ;  ruled  by 
Ella,  6. 

De  Juri  Regni  Apud  Scotoa,  79. 

Dekker,  Thomas,  collaborates  with 
Ben  Jonson,  106. 

Delany,  Mrs,  "fetch  a  walk,"  used 
by,  150. 

Delany,  Hon.  John  J.,  on  lack  of 
knowledge  of  English  literature, 
337. 

"Demonstrative  pronoun"  defined, 
246. 

Depravation  of  language,  339. 

De  Quincey  on  literature,  174. 

Descent   of   Plcts   and    Scots,   3. 

"Disiderative  verb"  defined,  250. 

De  Superbia,  42-43. 

"Devil  Is  an  Ass,"  106. 

De  Vinne,  Theodore  L.,  and  the  In- 
vention of  printing,  51  ;  on  punc- 
tuation, 268-269. 

Dewey,  Dr.  Mclvil,  member  of 
N.  E.  A.  special  committee  on 
phonetics,  287. 

Diacritics,  scientific  alphabet  dis- 
penses with,  278. 


394 


INDEX 


Dialect,  American,  333, 

Dialects,  Northern  group  of,  12-13. 

—  Southern  group  of,   13. 

—  spoken,    12-13. 

—  Aberdeenshire  and  Tweedale, 
preserved,  47. 

"Dialogue  Concerning  Heresies,"  by 
Sir  Thomas  More,  63. 

Diaries,   329-330. 

Dickens,  Charles,  323 ;  on  slang  In 
English,  342. 

"Dictes  and  Sayings  of  the  Philos- 
ophers," 56. 

Dictionaries  are  a  luxury,  where, 
336. 

—  publication   of,   130. 

—  vocabularies  of  the,  172. 
Dictionary,  Amlcls  on  the,  228-229. 
Dictionary,   as   a    Text-book,     233- 

258 ;  as  an  educative  medium, 
235,  258 ;  entertaining  character 
of,  230 ;  first  restricted  to  the 
English  language,  130 ;  how  to 
benefit  from  the,  220,  235-258 ; 
Supreme  Court  of  language,  233 ; 
value  of  the  study  of,  220,  223. 

"Didactic  poetry"  defined,  192,  206. 

Difficulties  besetting  pronunciation, 
270. 

Diffusion  of  slang,  343. 

Discommodity,  discommodius,  143. 

Discourse  (representative)  defined, 
176,  177. 

Disraeli  (Benjamin),  change  in 
political  conviction  of,  326. 

Discommode  used  for  "incom- 
mode," 143. 

Distraught  used  for  "distracted," 
148. 

"Divorce"  by  Milton,  127. 

Doggerel  sung  by  Minstrels,  34, 

"Donate"  printed,  51. 

Dots  and  dashes  used  to  indicate 
pronunciation  confusing,  270-271. 

Double  negative,  uses  of  the,  144. 

Drama,  infiuence  of,  89-93 ;  lewd 
and  iniquitous  according  to 
Barebone.  185-186 ;  under  the 
Restoration,  93. 

Drama  (the)  and  its  subdivisions 
defined,  184-190. 

"Dramatic  lyric"  defined,  192,  200. 

"Dramatic  monologue"  defined,  205. 


"Dramatic    poetry"    defined,     192, 

205. 
Drayton,  Michael,  101, 
Dryden,  "arose"  used  for  "arisen" 

by,  147  ;  on  Milton's  work,  124  ; 

mixed  forms  used  by,  153 ;  plays 

of,   93 ;    Shakespeare  decried  by, 

104 ;    on    Spenser,    85 ;    "worser" 

used  by,  144. 
Dugdale  on  the  Coventry  Mysteries, 

90. 
Dutch    or   Low    German    words    in 

English,    163,    168. 
Dutch  words  in  English,  161,  163, 

168. 

"e,"    disappearance   of    final,     59 ; 

elision   of  the  letter  in  English, 

142  ;   the  letter  and  Its  varying 

sounds,  131. 
"e"   the  sound  and  symbol  in  the 

N.  E.  A.  Alphabet,  293. 
Earle  (Prof.  John),  split  infinitive 

condemned  by,  157. 
Early  English  Texts,  13, 
Early   Middle   English   period,    11 ; 

characteristics    of,    23-34. 
Early  Modern  Period,  53,  54-124. 
East  Anglia,  counties  embraced  by 

kingdom  of,  8  ;  submits  to  Offa, 

7. 
East  Anglian  kings  descended  from 

Uffa,  5. 
East  Saxony,  counties  embraced  by 

kingdom  of,  8. 
Ebbsfleet,  4. 

Eclectic  English  Classics,  311, 
"Edinburgh   Review,"    152. 
Editions,    recent,    of    "Anglo-Saxon 

Chronicle,"  21. 
Education,  first  important  work  on 

English.   76. 
"Education,"   Milton's  tractate  on, 

127. 
Edward  the  Confessor,  24. 
Edward    III.    and    English    in    law 

pleadings,  27. 
Edwin,  son  of  Ella,  6. 
Effect  of  the  Renaissance,  24. 
Egbert,  King  of  Wessex,  7. 
"Elegy"  defined,  201. 
"Elene,"  18. 
Elizabeth,      Princess,      taught      by 

Roger  Ascham,  76. 


INDEX 


395 


Elizabeth,  Queen,  favors  Shake- 
speare, 101 ;  and  Thomas  Sack- 
ville,  74;  and  Sir  PhUip  Sidney, 
80. 

Ella  (Aelle)  at  Cymenesora,  4 ; 
founds  kingdom  of  South  Saxons, 
4 ;   rules  Deira,   6. 

Ellandum  scene  of  Mercian  defeat 
by  Offa,  7. 

Ellis  (A-  J.),  on  number  of  sounds 
in  English,  298,  299-300. 

Ellis  (Havelock)  and  grammar, 
264 ;  on  duty  of  writers,  326 ; 
on  the  logic  of  thought,  328 ;  on 
Pepys,  330. 

Ellwood  on  "Paradise  Found,"  128. 

Emerson  (Prof.  O.  P.)  on  first 
official  use  of  English,  14 ;  on 
French  words  in  English,  165 ; 
on  the  forming  of  a  vocabulary, 
219 ;  member  of  N.  E.  A.  Com- 
mittee on  phonetic  system,  287. 

Emerson  (Ralph  Waldo)  on  author- 
ship, 316;  editor,  323. 

Emotions,   the,   192. 

End-rime,  199. 

Eugles,  see  Angles. 

English :  by  whom  originated,  1- 
10  ;  effects  of  the  crusades  on,  35. 

—  alphabet  unphonetic  and  in- 
adequate, 131,  132;  Bible,  116- 
124. 

—  (correct),  based  on  good  usage, 
139. 

—  (bad),  offensive,  332. 

—  deposes  French,  27. 

—  German  view  of  the  study  of, 
335-336. 

—  growth  of,  11,  221. 

—  Its   vocabulary,    160-161. 

• —  indifference        to        philological 

study,   13. 
"English  kin,"  9. 
English  of  Sir  Thomas  Malory,  62. 

—  of  Sir  Thomas  More,   63-65. 

—  no  longer  the  Anglo-Saxon 
tongue,   159. 

—  number  of  words  In,   171. 

—  as  presented  in  the  Standard 
Dictionary,    235-237. 

—  state  of  at  Milton's  birth,  130. 

—  mixed  tongue,  77. 

—  Modern,  53,  124-138. 

—  (newspaper)    quality  of,  137. 


English  of  the  pioneer  press,   134, 
135. 

—  its  relation  to  German,  10. 

—  serial  appears,  the  first,  136. 

—  of   Shakespeare  and  of  Milton, 
146-147. 

—  speech,     "The    Bystander"     on, 
335. 

—  spelling,  130. 

—  in  Johnson's  time,  131. 

—  Standard    Dictionary    deflnitioH 
of,  236. 

—  texts  neglected,  13. 

—  tongue,  10. 

—  Tudor,  53. 

—  of  Tyndale's  New  Testament,  66. 

—  people  united  under  Offa,  7. 

—  vocabulary   reconstructed,   24. 

—  words,   sources  of  20,000,  163. 
Englishmen  fighting,  50. 
"Epicorne"   by  Jonson,    106. 
Epic  of  Beowulf,   17. 

—  poetry,   192,   198,  202-205. 

—  verse  defined,  192. 
Epics  classified,  203. 
Erasmus's  "Paraphrase  of  the  New 

Testament,"    72. 
Erroneous  vowel-pairing,  276. 
Errors    of    speech    In     commercial 

life,   337. 
"Essay"  defined,  177. 
Essays   of   Francis   Bacon,    112. 
Essex,  reduction  of,  5,  7. 
"Esthetic  art"  defined,  175. 
Ethelbert,   King  of  Kent,   9. 
Ethelric    (^thelric)    usurps  Delra ; 

defeated,  6. 
Etymology  defined,  241. 
"Evening  Post,"  New  York,  324. 
"Evening  Sun,"  New  York   (Editor 

of),    on    slang,    342. 
Everett     (Edward)     on    the    Bible, 

122  ;  on  literature,  174. 
"Everyman    in     His    Humour,"    by 

Jonson,  106. 
"Everyman's  Library,"  311. 
Exaggeration   of  language,   .346. 
Explorations,   results  of,   170. 
Extraught    for    "derived"    or    "ex- 
tracted,"  148. 

"Fable"  defined,  178,  179. 
"Faerie  Queene"  by  Spenser,  83,  84. 
"Farce-comedy"    defined,    189. 


396 


INDEX 


"Farce"  defined,  189, 

Farquhar,  Plays  of,  93. 

Fell  used  for  "fallen,"  147. 

Fernald  (Dr.  James  C.),  on  "fiction 
and  romiance,"  178 ;  on  gram- 
marians, 265  ;  on  literature,  178  ; 
o  n  "m  e  t  e  r,"  "measure," 
"rhythm,"  197-198 ;  on  poetry, 
191 ;  "Synonyms,  Antonyms,  and 
Prepositions,"  224-225. 

"Ferrex  and  Porrex"  by  Sackville 
and  Norton,  94. 

Fetch  used  for  "accomplish,"  149. 

"Fetch  a  turn,"  149. 

"Fetch  a  walk,"  uses  of,  149-150. 

Fetches,  150. 

"Fiction"  defined,  177-178. 

Fielding,   341. 

"Figure  of  speech"  defined,  194. 

Filipino  words  in  English,  171. 

First  foreclosed  mortgage  against 
Gutenberg,   53. 

First  oflScial  use  of  English  words, 
14. 

Fisher,   John,    73. 

"Five  Books  of  Moses,"  Tyndale 
translates,  65. 

"Flour  and  the  Lefe,"  42. 

"Folk-ballad"   defined,  204,  205. 

"Folk-song"  defined,  205. 

Foreign  Element  in  English,  159, 
173. 

Foreign  terms  In  English,  number 
of,    171-172. 

Foreign  words  used  by  Chaucer, 
165. 

Forms,    mixed,    153. 

Forsook  used  for  "forsaken,"  147. 

Fowler  (Orson  Squire)  on  in- 
dividuality,   325. 

"Fox"    (The),  by  Jonson,  106. 

Foxe,  John,  "Book  of  Martyrs," 
73,  75. 

France,  printing  in,  57. 

"Franclscanus"  by  Buchanan,  78. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  on  the  Bible, 
121. 

French  and  its  appearance  In  En- 
glish, 24  ;  blending  of,  with  En- 
glish, 35 ;  books,  early  transla- 
tion of,  35  ;  little  known  in  En- 
gland, 44. 

French  prevent  completion  of  print- 
ing  of  Great  Bible,   58. 


French  words  In  EJngllsh,  11,  24, 
163,    166-167,    170. 

Frenchman  casts  first  type  in  En- 
gland, 59. 

"Frequentative"  verb  defln6d,  251. 

Fuller,  Thomas,  on  sinapi,  140. ' 

Function  (the)  of  the  dictionary, 
212-232  ;  of  Grammar,  259-269. 

Funk  (Dr.  Isaac  K.)  on  "Albion," 
1 ;  on  Caxton's  "Recuyell  of  the 
Historyes  of  Troye,"  56 ;  princi- 
ples of  lexicography,  222  ;  secures 
expert  assistance,  225-226 ;  uses 
Scientific  Alphabet,   284. 

Funk  &  Wagnalls  New  Standard 
Dictionary  of  the  English  Lan- 
guage, N.  E.  A.  Committee's  Al- 
phabet used  In,   302-303. 

"Future  tense"  defined,  252. 

Gaels  In  North  Wales  and  the  Mid- 
lands, 3. 

Galileo  visited  by  Milton,  126. 

"Game  (The)  and  the  Play  of 
Chesse,"  56. 

Gardiner  befriends  Ascham,  76. 

Garnett  (Richard)  on  the  Paston 
Letters,  329. 

Gautler  (Theophile)  on  the  dic- 
tionary, 226 ;  on  words,  231. 

Gay,   John,  147. 

"Gazette  of  Antwerp,"  134. 

"Gender"  defined,  244. 

Geneva  Bible,  116. 

"Gentleman's  Magazine,"  The,  137. 

Geoffrey  Gaimar,  27. 

Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  27. 

German  language,  its  relation  to 
English,  10. 

—  troubadour,  181. 

—  words  in  English,  163,  170. 
Germany,     invention     of     printing 

owed  to,  57. 

—  Report  and  Discourse  of  the 
Affairs  and  State  of,  76. 

Ohost4s,  ghost£ses,  142. 

"Gipsies   Metamorphosed,"    106. 

Gladstone  (William  Ewart),  change 
in   political  convictions  of,   326. 

"Gleeman"    defined,    179,    181. 

Globe  Theater,  Shakespeare's  con- 
nection with,  101. 


INDEX 


397 


Golden  Fleece,  Philip  institutes 
order  ot,  50. 

Good  usage  dictates  the  correct  In 
English,  139. 

"Gorboduc,"  93. 

Gosse  (Edmund)  on  the  poetry  of 
the  trouvSres,    180. 

Gould  (Edward  S.)  on  law  of 
language,  262 ;  views  contro- 
verted, 263. 

Govea  (Andrew)  accompanied  by 
Buchanan  to  France,  78 ;  death, 
79. 

"Government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  of  the  people,"  38. 

Gower,  John,  36,  44-46. 

Grammar,  241-257 ;  knowledge  of, 
desirable,  259 ;  an  anatomical 
science.  Its  value,  264  ;  the  first 
English,  261 ;  function  to  follow 
after,  analyze,  and  describe,  not 
to  dictate,  261 ;  not  Indispen- 
sable, 259 ;  unknown  to  some 
masters  of  English,  263. 

Grammarians  correct  grammarians, 
259  ;  the  duty  of,  264. 

Grammatical  forms  confused,  24 ; 
rules  worthless.  If  not  based  on 
usage,  260. 

Granada,  Prince  of,  123-124. 

Grand,   141. 

Grandgent,  Professor  Charles  H., 
287. 

Grant,  Ulysses  Simpson,  on  the  In- 
fluence of  the  Bible,  120. 

Gray,  Thomas,  142. 

Great  Bible,  58. 

Great  Charter,  25. 

Greek  Comedy,  189. 

Greek  poetry,  divisions  of,  192. 

Greek  terms  in  English,  161-162, 
163. 

—  tragedy,   188. 

Greeley,  Horace,  121,  323. 

Green,  John  Richard,  4 ;  on  settle- 
ment of  Angles,  5. 

Greene,  Robert,  on  Shakespeare, 
104. 

Oroa,  141. 

Grossart  (Dr.  A.  B.)  on  Barebone, 
186. 

Grosseteste  urges  retention  of 
French  as  the  literary  language 
of  England,  35. 


Grotius  (Hugo)  meets  Milton,  126. 
Growth  of  English,  11-138. 
Guardian    (The),   established,    137. 
Guiana,    Raleigh's   Narrative   of    a 
Cruise  to,  110. 

Had  got,  340. 

Had  tcent,  340. 

Hague  (The),  English  "Courant" 
printed  at,  133. 

Haldeman,   Dr.   Samuel,   287. 

Haley  (Dr.)  on  the  reading  public, 
305. 

Hall,  Fltzedward,  346. 

Hallam  (Henry),  on  Hooker,  88; 
on  Bacon,  112  ;  on  the  Bible,  123. 

Harris,  Dr.  William  Torrey,  pro- 
nunciation and  spelling,  283-284, 
287;  on  the  sound  of  "ch,"  291. 

Harrison  on  Heywood,  72. 

Hathaway,  Anne,  100. 

Hazlltt  (William)  on  big  words, 
319. 

Hearne  (Thomas)  Issues  the 
"Rhyming  Chronicle,"  29. 

Hebrew  words   In  Bible,   124, 

Heer,  154. 

Hempl.   Dr.   George,  287. 

Hengest  and  Horsa  aid  Vortlgern, 
3  ;   defeat   Britons,   4. 

Henry  IV.  of  England  an  exile,  36. 

Henry  VIII.  and  the  Church  of 
England,  66 ;  and  the  religious 
houses,  67 ;  Coverdale's  Bible 
dedicated  to,  70 ;  rewards 
Ascham,  76. 

Henry    (O.),  206. 

Hercules,  Pillars  of,  1. 

Herlot  (James)  befriends  Bu- 
chanan, 78. 

Her'n,  154. 

Herodotus,  1. 

"Heroic  verse"  defined,  198. 

Heterogeneous  character  of  En- 
glish, 11,  159-173. 

Heywood,  John,  72. 

HIckes  (George),  fragment  from 
Caedmon,  16  ;  on  sources  of  En- 
glish  words,  162. 

Himer,  154. 

Hindu   words  In  English,   1C9. 

Hiser,  154. 

Hia'n,  154. 


398 


INDEX 


Hlatoria   Eeoleaiaatiea  Oentia   An- 

glorum,  19. 
Historic  plays,  Shakespeare's,  98. 
"History  of  the  Britons,"  character 

of,  27  ;  extract  from,  28-29. 
"History   of  English   Kings,"  27. 
"History  of  Scotland,"   80. 
"History  of  the  World,"  109-110. 
Hizzen,  154. 
Hoccleve,  Thomas,  155. 
llollnshed    (Raphael)    on    "taske," 

146. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  323. 
Holste,   Lucas,    126. 
Holy  Land,  English  soldiers  In,  350. 
Hone    (William)    on    the  abolition 

of  religious  houses,  68. 
Honorius,  3. 
Hooker,  Richard,  86-89. 
Home   (Thomas  Hartwell)   on  sta- 
tistics of  the  Bible,  123. 
Horton    (Dr.    Edward   A.)    on    the 

modern  sex  novel,  309. 
"Household  Words,"  342. 
Howard    (Henry,  Earl  of   Surrey), 

69-70. 
Howell,  James,   329. 
Huloet,  Richard,  130. 
Humanitarian,  change  of  meaning, 

213. 
Hungarian  terms  in  English,  169. 
Huntingdonshire,    Proclamation    to 

the  people  of,   25. 
Huxley's     (Thomas)     definition    of 

literature,  174. 

"I,"  the  sound  and  symbol.  See  Ai. 

"i"  sound,  the  so-called  long,  292. 

"i"  in  "marine,"  the  sound  of,  293. 

"I   done  it,"    347. 

Ida   the  Torch-bearer,   5. 

Idealism  in  literature,  184. 

Idler  (The),  started  by  Samuel 
Johnson,  137. 

Idyl,  the,  192,  200,  203-204. 

lerne,  1. 

Illustrated  Times  (The)  Issued 
without  stamp,  136. 

"II  Penseroso,"  by  Milton,  126. 

Imagery  in  rhetoric,  194. 

"Imagination"  defined.  192. 

Imitation,  tendency  toward,  328. 

Immigrants,  the  teaching  of  En- 
glish  to,   303. 


Impartial,  141. 

"Imperfect  tense"  defined,  252. 
"Impersonal  verb"  defined,  250. 
Incommode,  143. 
Increase   of  one's  vocabulary,   the, 

220. 
"Indefinite   pronoun"   defined,   246- 

247. 
Indianapolis   Journal    (Editor   of), 

on   vocabulary    of   average   man, 

214,  217-219. 
Individuality  in  its  relation  to  the 

state,   325  ;  in   writing,   325-331  ; 

shown  in  letter-writing,  328-329. 
"Induction  to  the  Mirrour  of  Mag- 
istrates," by  SackviUe,  94. 
Infinitive,  Split.     See  Split  infini- 
tive. 
Inflation  of  dictionary  vocabularies, 

221. 
Inflections,  24,  53,  54. 
Influence  of  the  Bible,  120,  122-123. 
—  of  the  Drama,  89-93. 
•Insight"  defined,   192. 
InstauratU)     Magna,     by     Francis 

Bacon,   113. 
"Institution   of  a  Christian   man," 

67. 
Instruct     used     for     "instructed," 

149. 
"Interjection"   defined,   257. 
"Interludes,"  by  John  Heywood,  72. 
"Interrogative     pronoun"     defined, 

246. 
"Intransitive    verb"    defined,    247- 

248,  250. 
"Invective,"  326. 
"Irregular  verb"  defined,  253. 
Italian  words  In  English,  161,  163, 

167-168. 

Jacobs  (Dr.  Joseph),  on  average 
man's  vocabulary,  215 ;  Editor 
of  "Howell's  Familiar  Letters," 
329. 

James  I.,  King  of  England,  favors 
Shakespeare,  101 ;  fosters  trans- 
lation of  Bible,   117. 

James  I.  of  Scotland,  46-47. 

James  V.  of  Scotland,  education  of 
the  sons  of,  78. 

James  VI.,  the  "British  Solomon," 
79. 


INDEX 


Jewel    (Bishop)    befriends   Hooker, 

86. 

John  (King)  and  the  Great 
Charter,   25. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  14,  131 ; 
starts  "The  Idler,"  137 ;  "curi- 
ous" defined  by,  143;  "colleague" 
defined  by,  144 ;  lexicographer" 
defined  by,  222,  342. 

Jongleur,  the,  34,  180. 

Jor.es  (Dr.  Daniel)  on  English 
pronunciation,    272. 

JoDson,  Benjamin,  105-108 ;  on 
language  and  style,  107-108 ; 
on  Francis  Bacon,  114 ;  on 
Shakespeare,  97,  101 ;  on  the 
strophe.  202. 

Jonson,  Broer,  printer  ot  English 
"Courants,"   133. 

"Juliana,"  18. 

Jutes  defeat  Britons  and  land,  3 ; 
settle  in  Kent,  3 ;  settle  in  Isle 
of  Wight  and   Hampshire,   7. 

Keats  (John),  Influence  of  Spenser 

on,  85. 
Keble  (John),  on  the  sixth  book  of 

"EcclesUstlcal    Polity,"    88. 
Kent,    Jutes    settle    in,     3 ;     under 

Mercian  supremacy,  6-7  ;  submits 

to  0«Ea,  7. 
Keynor  identified,  4. 
Kingdom  of  West  Saxons  founded, 

5  ;  of  Delra  formed,  6. 
King  James   version   of   the  Bible, 

see  Bible. 
"King's  Book."  The,   67. 
"King's  Quhalr,"  The,  46,  47. 
Kipling     (Rudyard)     on    American 

English,    333-335. 
Kittredge  (Prof.  George  L.)  identi- 
fies Malory,  61. 

Ladd  (Prof.  George  T.)  on  Imagi- 
nation, 193. 

"Lady  of  the  May,"  by  Sir  Philip 
Sidney,    80. 

"L' Allegro,"  by  Milton,  126. 

I.amb    (Charles)    on   Spenser,   85. 

Langland,  William  (Robert),  47- 
48  ;  alliterative  character  of  his 
verse,  48. 

I^iaugnage,  subject  to  syntactical 
license,  53. 


Lianguage,  efforts  of  grammarians 
to  confine,  157. 

—  number  of  words  in  English, 
171. 

—  (English)  as  presented  In  the 
Standard  Dictionary,  235-237. 

"Language"    defined,   237. 
Language  purifies  itself,  341. 

—  speech  of  the  people  the  true, 
344-345. 

—  test  of,  345. 
Languages  of  Britain,  9. 
Lappenberg,   Johann   Martin,  4. 
Large     (Robert)     Caxton's    master, 

54. 
Late  Middle  English  Period,  11,  34- 

49. 
Latimer,   Hugh,   73. 
Lawrence  the  Sexton,  50. 
"Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  by 

Richard  Hooker,  86,  88. 
Layamon    (Laweman),    31. 
Learn  used  for  "teach,"   151- 
"Learning,"  Francis  Bacon's  Essay 

on,   115-116. 
Lee    (Sir   Sidney)    on   Shakespeare, 

98. 
Leiand's  (fruits  of)    commission   to 

preserve  literary   collections,   67- 

68. 
Lesser  used   for   "less,"   145. 
Less  happier,  145. 
Letter-name  and  Its  sound,  lack  of 

relation  between,  275. 
Letters    (number    of)    in    different 

alphabets,   239-240. 
Letter-writing,  individuality  shown 

in,  328-329. 
Leveling  of  Inflections,  24. 
Libraries,    effect    of    Henry   VIII.'s 

edicts  on   the,  68. 
"Life    and    Reign    of    Edward    V.," 

by  Sir  Thomas  More,  63. 
"Limiting  adjective"  defined,  254. 
Linguistic   character   of  the    Bible, 

123. 
Lippincotfs  Magazine,  347. 
Literature  :  Its  Elements,  174-211. 

—  American  Association  of  Col- 
leges and  Preparatory  Schools 
selections  for  the  study  of  En- 
glish, 208-211. 


400 


INDEX 


Literaturet-  Professor  Henry  Seidel 
Canby  on  the  reading  of  English, 
306-307. 

—  Hon.  John  J.  Delany  on  lack 
of  knowledge  of  English,  337. 

Literary   ballad,  205. 

Lithgow  (William),  "fetching  a 
walk,"  150. 

London,  English  "Courants"  first 
appear   in,   133. 

London  Gazette  Issued,  135. 

Lord's  Prayer  (the)  in  Kentish 
dialect,   46. 

Louis  XIV.'s  aversion  to  "gros," 
141. 

Lounsbury  (Professor  Thomas  R.), 
on  authors  using  split  infinitive, 
157  ;  on  grammars,  260  ;  on  cor- 
rect English,  340 ;  on  corrupt 
English,  346,   347. 

Lowell  (James  Russell),  on  Spen- 
ser, 85 ;  an  editor,  323. 

Lowth  (Bishop)  on  "wrote"  for 
"written,"    147. 

Lubbock,  (Sir  John),  Hundred 
Best  Books,  310,  384-385. 

"Lycidas,"   by  Milton,   126. 

Lyly,  John,  "most  brightest"  used 
by,   146. 

"Lyric  poetry"   defined,    192,   200. 

Macaulay's  (Lord),  description  of 
Milton,  124 ;  Essays,  323 ;  on 
Barfire,  327 ;  on  Milton,  327. 

MacKellar  (Dr.  Thomas)  on  Cax- 
ton's  books,  56. 

Madden  (M.  J.  P.  A.)  on  relations 
of  Caxton  and  Mansion,  56-57. 

Mair,  John,  78. 

Maetzner's  classification  of  prepo- 
sitions, 257. 

Malory,  Sir  Thomas,  61 ;  described 
by    Caxton,    61. 

Manchester  Union  (The)  on  num- 
ber of  words  in  the  Bible,   124. 

Mandeville,  Sir  John  de,  36 ; 
"Narrative"  of  his  travels.  36 ; 
extract  from  his  "Pilgrymages 
in  Jerusalem,  etc,"  37. 

Mansion,  Colard,  55. 

Manso,  patron  of  Tasso,  meets 
Milton,   127. 

Mantegazza,  Paolo,  229. 

Maori  terms  in  English,   169. 

March,  Dr.  Francis  A.,  Sr.,  287. 


Margent  used  for  margin,   142. 

Marsh    (Professor    George   P.),    on 
Anglo-Saxon      speech,      8 ;       on        j 
neglect  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  Old        1 
English,   13  ;  on  the  contents  of        i 
dictionaries,    164,    165 ;    on    the 
dictionaries  of  his  day,   221 ;   on 
the  study  of  the  dictionary,  223  ; 
on    speech    corruption,    340. 

Martyrs,   Book  of,  73,  75. 

Mary  (Queen)  appoints  Roger 
Ascham  her  Latin  secretary,  76  ; 
increases   his  pension,   76. 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  Buchanan 
appointed   tutor   to,   79. 

Masters  of  English  ignorant  of 
grammar,  many,  263. 

Matthews  (Professor  Brander)  on 
the  split  infinitive,  158 ;  on  the 
use  of  foreign  words  in  English 
169 ;  on  the  vitalizing  element 
of  slang,  344-345;  on  style,  345. 

Matthews  (Sir  Tobie),  appreciation 
of  Francis  Bacon,    114. 

Maxwell  (Dr.  William  H.),  member 
of  N.  E.  A.  special  committee  on 
phonetics,  287. 

Meiklejohn  on  English  sounds,  132. 

Melsterslnger,    the,    181. 

Melodrama,   the,   190. 

Memory  (child's),  unnecessarily 
taxed  In  learning  pronunciation, 
270-271. 

"Men   of  the  March,"   6. 

Menage  (Gilles)  on  Louis  XIV. 
141. 

Mercia  (kingdom  of)  settled,  6 ; 
counties  embraced  by  kingdom 
of,   8. 

Mercians  supreme.  6 ;  decline,  7. 

"Meter"    defined.   196-198. 

Metrical  character  of  verse,  196. 

Middle    comedy,    189. 

Midlands  (language  of),  dominant, 
44. 

Milton  (John),  extent  of  his  vo- 
cabulary, 102  ;  life  and  works, 
125-130 ;  on  "Education,"  127, 
319  ;  thirty-line  sentence  by,  319- 
320. 

—  and  participial  Inflections,  148- 
149.  I 

—  use  of  "distract,"   149. 

—  use  of  "fetch  my  round."  149. 

—  use  of  'forsook,"  147. 


INDEX 


401 


Milton  (Jobn),  use  of  "Instruct," 
149. 

—  use  of  "margent,"   142. 

—  use  of  "suspect,"  149. 

—  use  of  "to  be  mistook,"  147. 
Milton's     characterization     of    Ed- 
mund Spenser,  84. 

Milton,  vocabulary  strength  of,  215. 

Minnesinger,  the,  181. 

Minstrels,  34,  179,   180. 

Mliito  (Professor  William)  on 
Sidney,  81. 

Miracle  play,   89-91,  185, 

Mlrrour  of  Magistrates,  Induction 
to,   by   Sackville,  94. 

Mistook  used  for  "mistaken,"  147. 

"Mode"   defined,   251. 

Modern  English,  12,  53,  124-138. 

Modern  Language  Association,  287. 

Modern  Period,  49,   124-138. 

Mohammedan  (terms  from)  world, 
used  in  English,   171. 

Monasteries  centers  of  learning,  34. 

Monks,  the,  23-34. 

Monodrama,   192. 

Monolog    (dramatic)    defined,    205. 

Montagu  (Lady  Mary  Wortley), 
329. 

Moralities    (the),  91. 

Morality  play,  185. 

More,   Sir  Thomas,  62-65. 

More  better,  145. 

More  happier,  145. 

More  readier,  146. 

More  sharper,  145. 

Morley,   Viscount,   323. 

Morte  d' Arthur,   61. 

Most  basest,  145. 

Most  boldest,  146. 

Most  brightest,  146. 

Most  heaviest,  146. 

Most  Highest,  145. 

Most  perfect,  146. 

Most  straitest,  145. 

Most  unkindest,  146. 

Motley,  John  Lothrop,  50. 

Murray  (Earl)  appoints  Buchanan 
principal  of  St.  Leonard's  Col- 
lege, 79. 

Murray,  Sir  James  A.  n.,  13  ;  re- 
produces Caxton's  translation  of 
Vergil's  "Eneydoa,"  60 ;  citation 
of  Palsgrave's  use  of  "fetfh" 
from   the  "Now  English   Diction- 


ary," 149  ;  cited,  162  ;  estimate 
of  number  of  words  recorded  by 
dictionaries,  165 ;  New  English 
Dictionary,   293, 

Mutations  of  Form  and  Sense  of 
words,   139-158. 

—  of  spelling,  131,  132,  141-142, 
146,  154. 

Mystery  plays,  34,  89-91,  185. 

Mystes,  142. 

Napoleon  on  the  power  of  the 
Bible,  120, 

National  Education  Association, 
273,  286,  296;  Alphabet — who 
devised  it,  287,  296;  character 
of  alphabet,  288 ;  easy  to  learn, 
298 ;  why  applied  to  the  En- 
glish   language,   298, 

National  Education  Association. 
Committee's  Alphabet  used  in 
Funk  and  Wagnalls  New  Stand- 
ard Dictionary,  302-303. 

Navarretta,  battle  of,  35. 

Navigators  enriched  the  language, 
166. 

"Necessary  Erudition,"  The,  67. 

Necessityed,  141. 

Negative,  the  double,  triple,  and 
quadruple,  144. 

"Neuter  verb"  defined,  250. 

"New  Atlantis,"  114. 

New   Comedy,    189. 

"New  English  Dictionary,"  293, 
294. 

News  as  a  singular,  155. 

"News  Letter,"  printed  In  Dutch, 
133,   134. 

"Newsletter"  Issued,  135. 

Newspaper  English,  its  quality, 
137. 

Newspaper  press,  Introduction  of, 
132-135, 

Newspaper  Stamp  Tax,   136. 

Newspapers  (Increase  of),  under 
Charles  II.,  135;  causes  (tax- 
ation),  136. 

"New  Standard  Dictionary"  on 
"English,"  236 ;  on  "language," 
237-238  ;  on  "literature,"  174- 
175 ;  on  "worser,"  144,  Sec 
also  Standard  Dictionauv. 

Xew  words,  their  tost.  l.TS. 

Netc  York  TIrrald  (Editor  of),  on 
words  of  disreputable  origin.  341. 


402 


INDEX 


lHew  York  Times  Saturday  Review 
of  Books  (The  Editor  of), 
quoted,  340,  341. 

"Niebelungenlled,"  181,  203. 

"Nominative  case"  defined,  245. 

Norman  Influence,  result  of  wan- 
ing, 25. 

Norse  words  in  English,  168-169. 

Northumbria  ruled  by  Ida  the 
Torch-bearer,   5. 

Northumbria  submits  to  Offa,  7 ; 
dialect,    16. 

Norton  (Thomas),  collaborates 
with  Sackville,  93. 

"Noun  adjective"  defined,  254. 

"Noun"  defined  and  classified,  243. 

Novel,  the,  178,  181-183. 

Novum   Organum,   112,   113. 

Nowell  (Robert),  befriends  Edmund 
Spenser,  82. 

"Number"  defined,  243. 

Number  of  words  in  English  lan- 
guage, 171. 

"O"  as  in  "not,"  and  "nor,"  294. 

"Objective  case"  defined,  245 ;  used 
for  the  nominative,  153. 

Ode,  the,  201-202. 

O'er-raught,  148. 

Ofifa,   7. 

"oi"  (the  diphthong).  In  the  N.  E. 
A.  Alphabet  and  Webster's  New 
International  Dictionary,  295. 

Old,   former   meaning  of,   141. 

Old  comedy,  189. 

Old  English,   character  of,   14. 

Oldest    English    Periods,    11-23. 

Old  News,  141. 

Old  Norse  words  in  English,  168. 

"On  the  Phonetic  Alphabet,  pro- 
posed by  the  Committee  of  the 
Department  of  Superintendence" 
of  the  National  Education  As- 
sociation,  296. 

"Ophthalmic  Literature"  quoted, 
320-321. 

Opponents  of  N.  E.  A.  Alphabet, 
claims  of,   290-292. 

Opposition  to  the  introduction  of 
the  Scientific  Alphabet,  280. 

—  to  the  study  of  classic  writers, 
206-207. 

"Oratory"  defined.  176-177. 

Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  insti- 
tuted, 50. 


Origin  of  English,  1-10. 

Ormin  and  "The  Ormulum,"  32. 

Orthography  defined,  241. 

—  (English)  hindrance  to  reading, 
304. 

Osborne  (Dorothy),  329. 

Oswy  unites  Bernicla  and  Deira,  6. 

Our'n  and  ourn,  154. 

O.xford,      England,      a      university 

founded  at,  23 ;  German   printer 

at,  58. 
Oxford  University  Press,  The,  58. 

"Parable    of    the    Spider    and    the 

Fly,"    by   Heywood,   72. 
"Paradise  Lost"    (resemblance  of), 

to     Caedmon's     "Genesis,"     15 ; 

copies    sold,    number    of,    127 ; 

quality    and    character   of,    128 ; 

sum  received  by  Milton  for,  127 ; 

time  taken  to  produce,  128. 
"Paradise    Regained,"     Origin    of, 

128. 
"Paraphrase"   of  Caedmon,   14. 
"Paraphrase    of    the    New    Testa- 
ment"   produced,    72. 
Paris,   France,   first   printing   press 

set  up  in,   works   printed  there, 

57. 
Parisian  French,  influence  of,  25. 
Parker,  Matthew,  116. 
"Participial  adjective"  defined,  254. 
Participial  infiectlons,  use  of,  148- 

149. 
"Participle"  defined,  251. 
"Part  of  speech"  defined,  242. 
"Passive  voice"  defined,  249,  250. 
Passy,  Paul,  289. 
Paston  Letters,  329. 
"Past  participle"  defined,  251. 
Peace   of   Bretigny,   35. 
Peach  of  a  way,  337. 
"Peblls  to  the  Play,"  47. 
Pepys,    Samuel,    329-330. 
"Perfect   tense"   defined,   252. 
Period,    Chaucerian.    34-49. 

—  Early  Modern,   54-124. 

-—  Late  Middle  English,   34-49. 

—  Modern,   124-138. 

—  Tudor,   54-124. 

Periodical  literature,  the  begin- 
nings of,   136-137. 

Periods  in  history  of  language  and 
literature,  11. 


INDEX 


403 


Perseverance  Indispensable  to  writ- 
ing for  publication,  316. 

"Personal  yerb"  defined,  260. 

Perspicuity,  318. 

Petrarcb  in  Padua,  42. 

Peversions  of  language,  346. 

Pbelps  (Dr.  Austin),  on  the  dic- 
tionaries of  bis  time,  221 ;  on 
benefits  of  precision  in  writing, 
317. 

PhiHdelphia  Telegraph,  336-337. 

Philip  the  Good,  50. 

Pbilological  Society  of  England, 
293,  294. 

"Philology"  defined,  238. 

Philosophia  Secunda,  114. 

Phonetic  qualities  of  the  N.  E.  A. 
Alphabet,  297. 

—  systems,  defects  of,  282. 
"Phonetics"    defined,   241. 
Phonetics,        Pronunciation,       and 

Reading,   270-313. 

"Phonology"   defined,   241. 

"Phrase"    (verb),  defined,  253. 

Picts  and  Scots,  3. 

Piers  Plowman,  vision  of,  48. 

Pillars   of   Hercules,    1. 

Pinclcney  (William),  use  of  the  dic- 
tionary  by,  220. 

Pitman  (Isaac)  and  Sons,  on  the 
Scientific  Alphabet,  279,  280. 

Playhouses  pennanent,  92. 

Plays,  earliest  English,  34 ;  char- 
acter of,  93. 

Plegmund,  21. 

"Pluperfect  tense"  defined,  252. 

Plural  endings  -n  -an  -en,  155. 

"Poetry"  defined,   176,   190-191. 

—  Epic,  192,  198,  202-205. 
Points  (Chief)  of  Punctuation,  268. 
Polish  words  In  English,  169. 
Political   power,   Buchanan's  views 

on  the  source  of,  80. 

Pope,  Alexander,  double  negative 
used  by,  144 ;  "forsook"  used 
for  "forsaken,"  by,  147 ;  origi- 
nator of  the  literary  letter,  329. 

Porter,   Sydney,  206. 

Portinpal,  Portingale  (Portugal), 
Portlngalls,  142. 

Portuguese  words  in   English,   166. 

"Positive   degree"    defined,   254. 

"Possessive  rase"  defined,  24.5. 

Posttn,  po8tf,»e»,  142, 


Precision  in  writing,  817. 

"Preposition"    defined,    257. 

"Present  participle"  defined,  231. 

"Present  tense"  defined,  253. 

Press,  Influence  of  the,  132-137. 

Press  (newspaper),  introduction 
of,  132-135  ;  most  prolific  source 
of  foreign  words,  the,  169-170 ; 
writing  for  the,  322-324. 

"Preterit  tense"  defined,  252,  253. 

Principals'  Club,  New  York,  337. 

Printers  supplied  by  Germany  and 
the   Low  countries,   58. 

Printing,  beginnings  and  effect  of, 
50-53 ;  helps  to  establish  forms 
of  words,  53 ;  invention  of,  owed 
to  Germany,  57 ;  at  Cambridge, 
England,  58 ;  at  Oxford,  En- 
gland, 58 ;  in  France,  progress 
of,  57. 

Printing-press,  effect  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the,  137. 

Prior  (Matthew),  use  of  "fell"  by, 
147  ;  use  of  "rose,"  147 ;  mixed 
forms  used  by,  153. 

Proclamation   of   Henry   III.,   25, 

Prodromi,  113. 

"Pronoun"    defined,    245. 

Pronunciation  and  Phonetics,  270- 
303. 

Pronunciation  of  British  Army 
officers.    271-272. 

—  formal  preferred,  272-273. 

—  indicated    by    unscientific    sys- 
tems, 274. 

—  teaching  of,  275-277. 

—  text-book    and     dictionary     sys- 
tems of,  281. 

"Proper  adjective"  defined,  254. 

Propriety  of  style,  316. 

"Prose  fiction"  defined,  176,  177. 

"Prosody"    defined,    242. 

"Prothalamlon,"  by  Spenser,  82. 

Provincialism,  American,  334. 

Prussian  words  in  English,  36. 

Punctuation.  267-269  ;  in  Its  re- 
lation  to  grammar,   267-209. 

Pure  Speech  League,  London,  335. 

Purity  of  style.  316. 

Put  her  wi.te,  337. 

Pynson,  Richard,  prints  first  Latin 
classic    in    England,    58. 

"Qualifying  adjectlvo"  defined,  254. 


404 


INDEX 


Ealeigh,   Sir  Walter,  108-111;   ex- 
tract  from    "The    Sceptic,"    110- 

111 ;   on   opinions   of  men.    111 ; 

on  Francis  Bacon,  114. 
"Ralph  Royster  Doyster,"  by  Udall, 

72,  73. 
"Rambler"   established,   137. 
Ramsey    (Professor  George  J.),  on 

Thomas  Coar's  "Grammar,"  261. 
Raught  used   for   "reached,"    148. 
Reading,    on   the   benefits   of,    304- 

313. 
Realism  In  literature,  183. 
"Reciprocal  verb"  defined,   247. 
"Recuyell     of     the     Historyes     of 

Troye,"   printed  by  Caxton,   56. 
Redwald,  King  of  the  East  Angles, 

6. 
"Reflexive  verb"  defined,  247. 
Reformation   in   England,   67. 
"Regular  verb"   defined,   253. 
Reid     (Thomas),     on     perspicuity, 

318. 
"Relative  adverb"  defined,  255. 
"Relative"     (Superlative)     defined, 

255. 
"Relative  pronoun"  defined,  246. 
Religious  houses  destroyed,   67. 
Remember  used  for  "remind,"  152. 
Replica  used  for  "ectype,"  213-214. 
"Representative  discourse"  defined, 

176,  177. 
Respectfully,  142. 
Respective   (respectful),  143. 
Respectively    (respectfully),    142. 
Restoration  on  the  drama,  effect  of, 

93. 
Review,  the  first  English,  136. 
Revised  Scientific  Alphabet,  279. 
Rhetorical    figures    classified,     194- 

195. 
"Rhyming     Chronicle,"     character 

of  the,  29. 
"Rime"  defined,  199,  200. 
Rippman     (Professor    Walter),    on 

English  speech,  272. 
Robert  of  Gloucester,  29. 
Robinson    (H.   P.),   on  accuracy  of 

American    speech,    332 ;    on    the 

American   accent,   334. 
Rogers       (Archdeacon)       on       the 

Chester  Mysteries,  91. 
Roman   literature   In   Britain,   2. 
—  tragedy,   188. 
Romance,   the,   178-179. 


"Roman  de  Ecu,"  31. 

Romans  in  Britain,  1-3. 

Romanticism  in  literature,  183- 
184. 

"Romaunt  of  the  Rose,"  42 ;  ex- 
tract from,   44. 

Rose  used  for  "risen,"  147, 

Rossettl  (Dante  G.),  use  of  "re- 
membered,"  152. 

Rule  (slavish  subservience  to),  a 
sign  of  decadence,  264. 

Ruskin  (John),  on  the  Bible,  119; 
on    reading,    304. 

Russian  words  in  English,  171. 

Sackville,  Thomas,  93-96. 

Saintsbury  (Prof.  George),  de- 
scription of  poetry,  191. 

Samson  Agonistes,  by  Milton,  128. 

Saturday  Review  of  Books,  Editor 
of  "The  New  York  Times,"  340, 
341. 

Saxon,  Norman,  and  Angevin 
French    combined,    12. 

—  possessive   pronouns,    154. 

—  use  of  the  negative,  144. 
Saxons  land  In  Britain,  3. 
Scala  Intellectus,  113. 
Scandinavian     words     In     English, 

168. 

"Scene"  defined,  190. 

"Sceptic"  (The),  by  Raleigh,  ex- 
tract from,  110. 

SchoefCer,    Peter,    53. 

"Seholemaster"  (The),  by  Ascham, 
75,  76. 

School  Journal  (The),  on  the 
Scientific  Alphabet,  277-278. 

Scientific  Alphabet,  277,  278,  285. 

Scop,  the,  181. 

Scotland,  greatest  scholar  pro- 
duced by,  78. 

—  History  of,  by  Buchanan,   80. 

Scott  (Dr.  Charles  P.  G.),  on  sys- 
tems of  notation  used  by  die- 
tionaries,  274  ;  member  of  special 
committee  on   phonetics,   287. 

Scott  (Sir  Walter),  on  the  Bible, 
120 ;   on   grammar,  260. 

Scripture  (the  work  of  Professor 
E.  W.),  and  the  N.  E.  A.  Alpha- 
bet. 301. 

Seafaring  terms  in  English,  168. 


INDEX 


405 


Seasoning  of  modern  literature, 
308. 

Seerley  (Dr.  n.  H.),  member  of  N. 
E.  A.  special  committee  on 
phonetics,  287. 

Seneca,  119. 

■•Sentence"   defined,  242. 

Sentence,  Milton's  longest,  319- 
320. 

Sermon  preached  by  Latimer  before 
Ed^.ard    VI.,    74-73. 

Sex  Novel,  the  modern,  309. 

Shakespeare,  John,  99. 

Shakespeare,  William,  97-105 ; 
classification  of  his  plays,  98 ; 
his  style,  97,  98  ;  spelling  of,  99, 
103 ;  connection  with  Black- 
friar's  Theater,  100;  with  the 
Globe  Theater,  101 ;  First  Folio 
Edition  of  his  works,  specimen 
page  from,  103 ;  envied  by  his 
contemporaries,  104 ;  the  split 
infinitive  as  used  by,  156 ; 
vocabulary,    strength    of,    215. 

—  use  of  "arose"  for  "arisen," 
147  ;  "colleague"  as  a  verb,  144  ; 
"curiosity"  for  "scrupulousness," 
143 ;  "curious"  for  "severe," 
143 ;  "distraught"  for  "dis- 
tracted," 148 ;  double  negative, 
144  ;  use  of  "extraught"  for  "ex- 
tracted," 148 ;  "fetch  a  turn," 
149 ;  "learn"  and  "teach,"  151 ; 
"margent"  for  "margin,"  142 ; 
"mistook"  for  "mistaken,"  147 ; 
mixed  forms  used  by,  153 ; 
"more  better,"  "more  happier," 
"more  sharper,"  used  by,  145 ; 
"most  noblest."  "most  heaviest," 
"most  perfect,"  "most  unkind- 
cst,"  used  by,  146  ;  "news"  used 
as  singular  or  plural  by,  155 ; 
"o'er-raught"  used  by,  14S ;  use 
of  "old,"  141 ;  "raught"  used  for 
•'reached."  148 ;  "remember" 
used  for  "remind,"  by,  152 ; 
•'respective"  used  for  "respect- 
ful" by,  143 ;  "respectively"  used 
for  "respectfully"  by,  143 ; 
"took"  used  for  "taken"  by,  147 ; 
"worser"   used  by,   144. 

Shaw   (Bernard),  207. 


Sheldon     (Prof.    E.     S.),    member 

of  the  N.  E.  A.  special  committee 

on  phonetics,  287. 
Shelley,    influence    of    Spenser    on, 

85. 
"Shepherd's    Calendar"    (The),    by 

Spenser,    83 ;    extract    from,    So- 

86. 
Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  80-82  ;  effect  of 

his  death  on  his  contemporaries, 

81 ;  on  grammar,  261. 
"Silent   Woman,"    by    Ben   Jonson, 

106. 
Simplicity  of  English,  265. 
Simplified     spelling,     its     progress, 

140. 
Simmons,     Samuel,     Milton's     pub- 
lisher, 127. 
Skeat      (Prof.     Walter     W.),      on 

French    words    in    English,    165. 

—  on  English  as  studied  in  Amer- 
ica, 332  ;  on  English  schoolboy's 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  his  native  tongue,  338-339. 

Skelton  (John),  satirist,  71;  ex- 
tract from  his  satire  on  Wolsey, 
71. 

Slang,  American,   333-334. 

—  evil  of,  344. 

—  widespread  use  of,  343. 

Smith  (Professor  George  J.),  on  in- 
adequacy of  reading  in  schools, 
338 ;  on  knowledge  acquired  by 
graduates,  338. 

Smollett,  words  used  by,  341-342. 

"Song  of  Azariah,"   15. 

"Song  of  Moses"  as  in  Wycliffe's 
Bible,   38-39. 

—  from  authorized  version  of  the 
Bible,    39-40. 

Sonnet,   the,   200-201. 

SorI)onne       (the),      Paris      printer 

brought  to,  57. 
Sounds    in    English,    N.    E.    A.    ap- 
points   Committee    to     consider, 

27.3. 
Sourr-os    of    20,000    English    words, 

103. 
Southey      (Robert),      influonoo      of 

Spenser  on,  85 ;  use  of  "fetch  a 

walk"  by,   WO. 
South  Saxon  Kingdom  founded,  4. 
Spanish  words  introduced,  35,  161, 

163,  166. 


406 


INDEX 


Spanish-American  words  in  En- 
glish, 171. 

Spectator  (The)  started  by  Addi- 
son, 137. 

Speculum  Meditantis,  by  Gower, 
46. 

Speech  (careful),  ludicrous  or  vul- 
gar, 271. 

—  (errors  in),  due  to  carelessness, 
337. 

—  figure  of,  194. 

Speght  (Thomas)  on  Chaucer's 
birth,  40. 

Spelling,  confusion  of,  53  ;  defined, 
241  ;  English  and  American,  140  ; 
in  Johnson's  time,  131 ;  of  Mil- 
ton, 130 ;  of  Shakespeare,  103, 
105,  141,  142 ;  variations  of, 
131,  132,  140-142.  27G. 

Spenser,  Edmund,  82-86. 

—  his  "Amorette,"  82  ;  "The  Shep- 
herd's Calendar,"  82  ;  character 
of  "The  Shepherd's  Calendar," 
83 ;  "The  Faerie  Queene,"  83, 
84  ;  Milton's  characterization  of, 
84  ;  imitators  of,  84 ;  place  in 
English  literature,  85 ;  extract 
from  "The  Shepherd's  Calendar," 
85-86. 

"Split  infinitive"  defined,  155 ;  as 
found  in  Shakespeare,  156  ;  uses 
of.  155-158.  204. 

"Standard  Dictionary  of  the  En- 
glish Language,"  cited,  236-257  ; 
defines  "split  infinitive."  155 ; 
diphthong  "u"  recognized  by. 
294 ;  Dr.  I.  K.  Funk  employs 
Scientific  Alphabet  in,  284. 

Standard  of  English  established  by 
periodical   press,  137. 

Stanley    (Dean)    on  literature.  175. 

Stanza,  characteristics  of  the.  199. 

Steele  (Richard),  starts  "The  Tat- 
ler."  136. 

Stevenson  (Robert  Louis)  on 
American  and  British  accent, 
334. 

"Strong-weak   verb"    defined,   253. 

Strophe,   the.  202. 

Strength   in  language,   318. 

Stucl:  on,  337. 

"Subjunctive   mode"    defined.    251. 

"Subordinate  conjunction"  defined. 
250-257. 


"Substantive  verb"  defined,  253. 

"Suggestion"   defined,    195. 

"Suggestive"  defined,  195. 

Sun  {The),  New  York,  quoted,  335. 

Superintendence  (Board  of),  of 
the  National  Education  Associa- 
tion accept  their  special  com- 
mittee's alphabet,  296. 

"Superlative  absolute"  defined,  255. 

"Superlative  degree"  defined,  255. 

"Superlative  relative"  defined,  255. 

Super-superlatives  and  their  use, 
145-146. 

Surrey,  Earl  of.  See  Howard, 
Hexey. 

Surrey  and  Sussex  form  Kingdom 
of  Sussex,  7. 

Suspect  used  for  "suspected,"  149. 

Sussex,  Ella  breaks  British  power 
in,  4 ;  Mercian  supremacy  in,  6- 
7 ;  South  Saxons  found  kingdom 
of.  7. 

Swabian  Middle  High  German  of 
the  Minnesinger,  181. 

Swift,  Dean,  329  ;  on  the  correct- 
ing of  the  language,  342  ;  "rose" 
used  for  "risen"'  by,  147. 

SjjJva  Sylvarum.  113. 

Symbols  in  different  phonetic  al- 
phabets,  280.   295,  301-302. 

"Synonyms,  Antonyms  and  Prep- 
ositions," by  Dr.  J.  C.  Fernald. 
quoted,  176,  178.  191,  197-198. 

Synonyms,  value  of  systematic 
study  of.  224  ;  works  giving.  224. 

Syntax  disregarded,  54 ;  defined. 
241. 

Taft.     "William     Howard,     on     the 

Bible,  122. 
"Tale  of  the  Oak   and  the  Briar."' 

by  Spenser,  85-80. 
Task    (tax),    146. 
"Tatler"    (The),   appears,   136. 
Teaching   pronunciation.   275. 
Temple,   Sir  William.   329. 
"Tense"  defined,  252. 
Territorial      expansion,     effect     on 

language,   171. 
Testament,  Tyndale's.  65. 
Teutonic  tribes,  dialects  of  the,  12- 

1.3. 
Text-book   and   Dictionary,   systems 

of  pronunciation    compared,   281. 


INDEX 


407 


Thackeray,  William  Makepeace, 
323 ;  "fetch  a  walk,"  used  by, 
150. 

Theater,  first  licensed,  92,  93. 

Theaters,   closing   of,    93. 

Theatrical  entertainment  in  de- 
mand, 92. 

"The  Scholemaster,"  75,  7G. 

"The  Shepherd's  Calandar,"  82. 

The  Spectator,  London,  quoted, 
117,    118,    119. 

Thomas,  Calvin,   287. 

Thomson,  influence  of  Spenser  on, 
85. 

Took  used  for  "taken,"  147. 

Tovey  (Nathaniel),  tutor  to  Mil- 
ton,  125. 

Toxophilus,    75. 

"Tractate    on    Education,"    127. 

Tragedies  by  Jonson,  106 ;  by 
Shakespeare,    98. 

Tragedy,   187-188. 

Transition  from  Middle  English  to 
Modern    English,    59. 

"Transitive  verb"   defined,    247. 

Trautniann  identifies  Cynewulf,  18- 
19. 

Travers  (William),  contest  -with 
Richard  Hooker,   87. 

Trench  (Richard  C.)  on  the 
sources  of  English  words,   163, 

Trevisa.  John  de,  35. 

Troubadour,   the,  180". 

Trouv6re,   the,   180. 

Tudor  Period,   53,   54-124. 

Turkish  terms  in  English,  1G9.  170. 

Turner  (Sharon)  on  the  sources 
of  English  words,  162. 

Tweedale  dialect,  47. 

"Twelve  Homilies,"  67. 

Tyndale.  William,  05-06,  67. 

Type,  first  wooden.  51. 

Type  (metal),  first  cast  in  En- 
gland, 59. 

"T"."  the  sound  and  symbol,  295. 
I'dall,   Nicholas,   72. 
UfTa,   King  of   East   Anglia,   5. 
T'fflnpas,     prince     of     the,     subdues 

F^ssox.  5. 
T'nton   and   extent  of   Rcr'iicla   and 

Delra,  8. 
Unity  in  literary  composition.  31S. 


Unpartial.  141. 

Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge  claim   of  Chaucer,   41. 

Unstressed  vowel,  tendency  to  ob- 
scure, 272. 

Usage  (good)  determines  the  cor- 
rect in  English,  139 ;  not  court 
of  last  resort  according  to  Ed- 
ward S.  Gould,  262-203. 

"Utopia"  described,  Sir  Thomas 
More.  63. 

Vaile  (Prof.  E.  O.),  member  of  the 
N.  E.  A.  special  committee  on 
phonetics,  287. 

Vanbrugh,  Plays  of,  93. 

Van  Dyke's  (Dr.  Henry)  defini- 
tion of  poetry  quoted,   190. 

Variations  of  spelling,  see  Spell- 
ing. 

Veneration  In  which  the  King 
James  version   is   held,    123. 

"Venus  and  Adonis,"  101. 

••Verb"  defined,  247. 

"Verb  phrase"  defined,  253. 

Verhoeven  (Abraham)  Issues 
"News  Letter,"   134. 

"Verse"   defined,   198. 

"Verse"  differentiated  from 
"stanza,"   198-199. 

Version    (Bible),   King  James.   123. 

Veseler,  George,  printer  of  English 
"Courants,"  133. 

•'Vision  of  Piers  Plowman,"  ex- 
tract from,  48. 

Vizctelly,  llonry,  130. 

Vocabularies  of  the  Dictionaries, 
172. 

Vocabulary  of  average  educated 
American  or  Englishman, 

strength  of.  217  ;  the  average 
man.   214-219. 

Vocal   elements  of  speech,  283. 

"Voice"   defined.   249. 

"Volpone."  by  Jonson,  100. 

Vortlgern  seeks  aid,  3. 

"Vox  Clamantis,"  by  Gower,  40. 

Vowel.  i)roininciation  of  tlie  un- 
stressed advocated.  271. 

Vov.'cl-palring.   correct.  275. 

Vowel-sounds.  English  and  Conti- 
nental.  299-.101. 

—  symbols  usod  to  Indicntc,  286. 

Vowels,    unaccented,    279. 


408 


INDEX 


Wace,  27,  31. 

Walk,  fetch  a,  149,  150. 

Walpole,   Horace,  329. 

Walsh  (William  S.),  "Encyclopedia 
of  Quotations,"   38. 

Walther  von  der  Vogelweid,  181. 

Wanley's  fragment  from  Caedmon, 
IG. 

War  of  the  Roses,  end,  50. 

Webster,  Daniel,  on  the  Bible,  121 ; 
use  of  the  dictionary,  by,  220 ; 
on  the  requirements  of  a  United 
States  Senator,  232. 

Webster's  American  Dictionary, 
221. 

Websterian   notation,    281,   282. 

Webster's  New  International  Dic- 
tionary on  the  relations  of  En- 
glish and  Continental  vowel 
sounds,   301. 

Weeks  (Professor  Raymond),  mem- 
ber of  the  N.  E.  A.  special  com- 
mittee on   phonetics,   287. 

Wells  (H.  G.),  on  English  classics, 
308. 

Wesley  (John),  definition  of 
"Methodist"  by,  222  ;  his  opinion 
of  his  dictionary,  223. 

Wessex,  counties  embraced  by  king- 
dom of,  8 ;  under  Mercian  su- 
premacy,  6-7. 

Westminster,  Caxton  sets  up  press 
in,    56. 

West  Saxon  kingdom  founded,  5 ; 
ruled  by  Offa.  7. 

Wheloc   of   Cambridge,   21. 

Whencing,  landing  in  Britain  of,  4. 

"Where  am  I  at?"  348. 

Whitgift  permits  Hooker  to  retire 
from  the  Mastership  of  the 
Temple,    87. 

Whitney  (Dr.  William  D.),  on  the 
acquiring  of  speech,  262 ;  ex- 
pert   phoncticist,    287. 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  323. 

Wilde,  Oscar,  207. 


Wilkins  (Bishop  John)  on  changes 
in  words,  139. 

William  the  Conqueror  raises  Ox- 
ford and  Cambridge  to  Univer- 
sity  rank,   23. 

William  of  Malmesbury,  27. 

WippedesOeot,  scene  of  defeat  of 
Britons  by  Hengest  and  Aesc,  4. 

Wolsey  (Cardinal),  patron  of  John 
Skelton,  71 ;  "Soliloquy  upon  his 
Fall,"  from  Shakespeare's  "Henry 
VIII.,"    extract,    103,    104. 

Wooden  type,  invention  of,  51. 

Word,  definition   of,    238-23'j. 

Words,  correct  use  of,  310. 

—  in  English  language,  number  of, 
171. 

—  new,  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
138. 

—  placed  in  the  order  of  the 
thought,    54. 

Wordsworth,  Influence  of  Spenser 
on,    85. 

Works  selected  for  study  and  read- 
ing by  American  Association  of 
Colleges  and  Preparatory 

Schools,    208-211. 

Worser,  uses  of,  144. 

Wright,   Dr.   Joseph.    334. 

Writing    for    publication,    314-324. 

"Wrote"  for  "written,"  uses  of, 
147-148. 

Wycherley,  Plays  of,  93. 

Wycliflfe  (Wyclif),  John  de,  his 
life  and  work,  36,  38. 

Wyld  (H.  C.  K.),  views  on  care- 
ful  speech,   271. 

Wynkyn   de  Worde,   55. 

Young,    Thomas,    tutor    to    Milton, 

125. 
Your'n  and  yourn,  154. 

Zell  (Ulrich),  prints  "Chronicle  of 
Cologne,"  51 ;  claim  that  he 
taught  Caxton,   55. 


V  ^" 


